Falling Skies
by Captain-Spangled
Summary: Summer has ended so it means back to school for Alex. Everything seems to be going on fine until the Cullen's pick up and move from Fork, leaving Bella in a depression. How will Alex deal with her mopey sister, crushing on her best friend, and werewolves. The supernatural just can't seem to leave her alone. Jacob/OC [complete]
1. Happy Birthday Bella

Quick Authors Note:: This is a sequel to my first Twilight story, _Dark Skies, _so if you haven't read that I would go back and do that first. There's also a mini-series set before this called _Heat of Summer_ which you do not have to read beforehand, but it would be nice if you did. Okay, that's all. Enjoy the story!

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**Chapter One: Happy Birthday Bella**

"Dad, come on. She's going to be waking up soon, but I really want to surprise her before that." I hissed behind me as I crept up the stairs in front of my dad.

For some strange reason, my sister liked to wake up at an ungodly hour so that she could get ready for school. And because I had decided that this was going to be the year that I would surprise her while she was still sleeping, that meant that I had to get up at an even earlier time. Even though I just want to go back to sleep as soon as my alarm went off, I pulled myself out of bed and grabbed the present I had gotten for Bella, and went downstairs to wake Charlie. I refused to let my sacrifice of more sleep go unrewarded.

"Dang it, girl. I'm going." Charlie muttered sleepily behind me.

"Shhhh." I hissed at him once we reached the top of the stairs. Knocking softly, I quickly pushed opened the door to see my sister sitting up in bed. I frowned heavily and placed a hand on my hip. "Would it kill you to let me surprise you before you wake up just once?"

"If it makes you feel better, I woke up a few seconds before you knocked on the door," Bella informed me with a shrug, pushing the hair from her face and scratching her head.

I glared at her as I stepped into the room. "It doesn't."

"Happy birthday, Bells," Charlie said, shaking his head at me before entering the room as well and presenting his and Renée's gifts to his eldest daughter.

"Dad, Alex, we agreed, no gifts."

"At least mine's not wrapped." Charlie pointed out, handing her a silver camera with a large pink bow and the top.

Bella took the camera from Charlie and looked it over, a small smile tugging at her lips. "This is actually kind of great. Thanks, Dad."

"Open mine next!" I said excitedly, shoving my small wrapped gift towards her. She gave me a look, but I just smirked. "I only promised not to get you a gift if I couldn't find one." I reminded her smugly.

I bit my lip as she took the purple box from me and started unwrapping it. It had taken me forever to think of a gift for her, she was so simple (boring) and didn't want much. It got even worse after we moved to Forks and her life started to revolve around Edward. I cursed his name for weeks until he actually gave me an idea as to what I should get her.

"_Dracula_," Bella spoke disbelievingly, letting the book fall from her hand and onto the bed.

I bit back a laugh. "Yeah, you like old books, right? I know you don't already have a copy so I thought I would get it for you. It's supposed to be really good."

Bella just glared at me. Charlie looked awkwardly between the two of us before clearing his throat and holding out a shiny wrapped bow with another large bow on top.

"Here, this is from your mom. We coordinated—well, she coordinated me."

I rolled my eyes as Bella once again started unwrapping her gift. Mom hadn't coordinated dad, I had. Renée knew that Charlie would have no clue what to get Bella so one night when I was talking with her over the phone she told me what she was getting Bella and what I should have dad get. She even admitted that she had done the same thing with Bella for my gift a few months earlier.

"It's to put your pictures in, record you senior year." Charlie continued once Bella had uncovered the patterned cover of a scrapbook. "Man, senior year. How'd you get so old so fast?"

Bella started shaking her head, a determined expression on her face. "I'm not that old."

"I don't know," Charlie said with a shake of his head before squinting at her, "Is that a gray hair?" Adding to the joke, he stretched out a hand towards her head as though he was going to pluck it when Bella jumped out of bed and bee-lined towards a full-length mirror she had in the corner of her room.

I started laughing as she searched her reflection for a nonexistent gray hair. "He was kidding, Bella."

"That was so not funny," Bella said, turning away from the mirror to look at us. Charlie raised his hands in surrender and slowly started to back out of the room.

"It was a little funny." I insisted, using my pointer finger and thumb to create an inch of space. I then pointed towards her face, "Whoa, you've got some deep wrinkles forming when you glare like that."

Gasping slightly, Bella quickly turned towards the mirror once more to see that nothing was that. Laughing, I walked out of her room and into my own where I got ready for the day. I met Bella downstairs where we ate breakfast together, Charlie having left for work about ten minutes earlier. We ate quickly before shouldering our backpacks and heading out to the truck to go to school.

I missed having the truck all to myself. Sadly, a couple weeks before school started up again, Bella got a job at the Newton's sporting goods store. It was only three days a week, but it was enough to make me once again share the truck with her. She tried to talk me into getting a job as well but because I still had a nice stack of cash saved up from when I babysat in Arizona.

Pulling into the parking lot of the school, I watched as Bella did her usual routine of scanning for Edward before parking in a spot. To her disappointment, she didn't find him. But while she was driving slower than a turtle, I was able to spot our other friends.

"Remember, you're not allowed to bring up my birthday," Bella instructed as we got out of the truck and started to make our way over to them.

"I promise," I said sarcastically, making a cross over my heart with my right pointer finger.

Bella shook her head at me.

"So, today's the big day, Bella," Jessica said as we approached. Bella shot me a dirty look while I held up my hands in defense knowing she thought I had told the group about it being her birthday. Jessica raised an eyebrow at us. "R and J essay? It's due today."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Bella nodded her head. "Right."

"Wherefore art thou, Bella?" Mike recited jokingly, holding out a hand towards my sister.

"Very nice, Lameo." I teased, high-fiving his outstretched hand.

Next to me, Bella started digging around in her bag until she pulled out the silver camera Charlie had gotten her. "I need a picture of you guys. My mom's expecting a scrapbook full of memories from senior year."

Mike, Jessica, and Eric were all for the idea, putting their arms around one another right away while Angela starting backing away.

"I take pictures, I'm not in them," she said, holding up her own camera to prove a point.

Eric wouldn't have it and threw an arm around her shoulder before pulling her close. Jess worried about if her nose looked big while Eric, like always, cockily assured everyone that he was going to be the highlight of the picture. I stood next to Bella, shaking my head at them while my sister took the picture. Not even seconds after the flash went off I watched as their faces all fell. Turning around, I saw the cause of their change in mood. Edward had arrived and was making his way over to them.

I waved goodbye to my friends as they all turned and started walking away. Bella didn't notice their departure as she was too busy gawking at her approaching boyfriend.

"Happy birthday," he said, stopping in front of us.

"You're not allowed to say that," I stated matter-of-factually, happily turning towards my sister. "See, I got your back, Bells."

"Eighteen is a little early to be worrying about your age, don't you think?"

"I'm a year older than you." Bella pointed out.

"Bella, I'm one hundred and nine." Edward reminded her.

I brought a hand to my face, rubbing it over my eyes to block out the grossness that continued to happen a few feet in front of me. I tried to block out what they were saying for a while before opening my eyes just in time to see them pretty much making out in front of me.

"Okay, can you guys not do that in public, please," I whine, turning away. "Class is going to start soon and you'll be late if you don't stop.

The two pulled apart and Bella looked at me sheepishly. "She's right…we should get to class."

We turned to start towards the school only to be stopped by Edward. "There's someone who wants to see you first."

Turning around, I saw that that someone was Jacob Black. A smile stretched across my face as I closed the distance between the two of us and attacked him in a hug. He laughed loudly before wrapping his arms around me in return.

"Thank god you are here, I thought these two were going to kill me with their sappiness." I told him once I pulled away.

"I guess I came at a good time then," He smirked before walking back with me to where Bella stood smiling. "Hey, Bella."

"Jacob, wow. You know anabolic steroids are really bad for you," Bella said, nodding towards his large arms.

"Well, it wouldn't seem so drastic if you came around more often." Jacob pointed out.

"I don't know what you're talking about drastic, you still look like the same old wimp to me." I muttered, shrugging my shoulders slightly.

It was a lie, though. After spending most of the summer with him, I had watched as he grew and started to fill out more. I had seen him without his shirt a couple of times and had to turn away to keep myself from blushing but didn't always succeed. Although I tried to keep the feelings buried down, I couldn't seem to stop myself from developing a small crush on Jacob. And that sucked because I considered him to be one of my best friends so I didn't want to ruin that because of some stupid feelings.

"Oh yeah?" Jacob asked, grabbing my head gently in the crook of his arm and pulling me towards him. He held me there for a few seconds, something I didn't mind, before I pushed away from him.

"Why don't you get to the reason you're here," I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Right," Jacob muttered before pulling something from his back pocket and holding it out of Bella. "Happy birthday. Your dad told my dad, so…"

I watched as my sister took the small dream catcher from Jacob and hold it in her hands. Without thinking, my hand found the bracelet on my wrist and a finger slowly traced the outline of a similar shape.

"Bella, Alex, the bell's about to ring," Edward told us, coming to stand right behind Bella. Seconds after he said it, the bell rang.

"Ooh, look at you, all psychic," Jacob said in a snarky tone, a smirk playing on his lips.

I crossed my arms over my chest and bumped my shoulder into Jake. Edward's eyes suddenly formed a glare as he placed an arm around my sister's shoulders.

"No, but I can read a watch. I'm clever that way," Edward said back, slowly backing away, taking Bella with him.

"Thanks for the gift, Jacob," Bella called out before heading towards the school with Edward.

"I guess I'll see you later," I said, moving to stand in front of him.

"Yeah."

We hugged quickly before I turned and started off towards the school as well. Halfway there, I turned around and waved to Jacob who still hadn't moved before turning back around and walking faster. If I hurried, I would still be able to make it to my class before the second bell rang. I caught up quickly with my sister and Edward who had now been joined by Alice and Jasper.

"Alex, tell your sister that she has to come to our house tonight." Alice pleaded, grabbing my arm.

I looked at her questionably for a moment before understanding what she was talking about. "Bella, you're coming tonight. Alice and I have been looking forward to and planning this for a month now."

"See?" Alice said, turning once more to my sister. "It'll be fun. Please?"

Bella stood there for a moment, seemingly thinking it over before giving in. "I…okay…I'll go."

Alice gave a small squeal of excitement while I looked over my shoulder at Jasper who smirked back at me.

"Great! See you at seven!" Alice said happily before skipping back to her mate.

They had just turned to leave when Bella realized what had happened. "Jasper, no fair with the mood control."

Jasper just chuckled. "Sorry, Bella."

"Don't listen to her, Jasper. You keep up the good work!" I called after them as Alice pulled him away before Bella could change her mind.

Edward smiled and shook his head. "Vampires. You can't trust them."

I was about to comment on that when I remembered what I had been doing before getting interrupted. "Crap, I'm going to be late!" As though to rub it in, the second bell rang loudly, echoing through the empty hall. Muttering a curse, I said goodbye to my sister and her boyfriend before stomping angrily off towards my first class.

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Authors Note:: The wait is over! We finally have the first chapter of New Moon with Alex posted! Yay! The poll is still up for Jacob's nickname for Alex so please take that if you can. I think I'll leave it up till the end of the week. I hope you guys liked this first chapter. Let me know what you thought in a message or review, I love hearing from you guys. Oh, and I should probably get it out of the way so I'll just say it here: I do not own anything from Twilight, I only own my OCs Alex and Leslie. Alright. :)


	2. Party at the Cullen's

**Chapter Two: Party at the Cullen's**

My first hour teacher hadn't been too happy with me being late. But because it was still towards the beginning of the year I didn't get into too much trouble. The rest of the day went by slow and I spent most of my time watching the clock. Lunch was pretty fun. Jasper, Alice, and Edward had joined us at our table, much to the discomfort of our old lunch crew. Leslie still had a different lunch period than me this year, so that sucked, but I had more classes with her so I was able to see her then.

When the final bell rang to announce the end of the day, I sped off to the truck where I waited impatiently for Edward to arrive with my sister. It took a few minutes but soon they showed up. I sat awkwardly in the middle since Bella insisted on driving and Edward had to tag along to babysit my sister. It was a bit of an uncomfortable drive but as soon as we got home I hopped out of the car, ran inside the house, threw my backpack on the kitchen table, and headed up to my room to get ready.

I had showered the night before so I didn't have to worry about that. Walking over to my vanity, I turned on my curling iron and let it warm up before changing into my dress for the night. I had seen it on one of my many shopping trips with Alice and had fallen in love with it. It was wine red in color and had holes cut out to show off the skin around my collarbone. Leaving my legs bare, I put on black ankles socks before slipping into my worn black converse. Pulling out the leather jacket I had gotten for my birthday, I threw it on my bed so I would remember to grab it on my way out. Just as I was doing that, my curling iron beeped letting me know it was at temp.

I didn't go to crazy with it, mainly using it to curl the hair on the sides of my face so that it fell nicer. I then just curled at few random chunks around my head before turning the device off and setting to work on my makeup. I had applied it pretty natural today so that I could fix it for tonight. Applying a dark shadow to my lid, I smoked it out before relining my upper eyelid and applying more mascara to my lashes. Once that was finished, I grabbed my phone from my discarded jean pocket and sent a text to Alice, telling her I was ready, before grabbing my jacket and heading downstairs.

Passing the living room, I saw that Edward and Bella had curled up on the couch and were watching Romeo and Juliet. The lights were off leaving the room pretty dark except for a faint beam of light seeping in through the window. "Could you two be more depressing?" I asked, leaning against the doorway with my arms crossed in front of my chest.

Bella reached out to grab the remote, pausing the film. "What, it's extra credit."

"Yeah, extra credit. Bella, you've seen this about a hundred times. I'm sure if you needed to write a paper you could have just done it from memory," I said, shaking my head slightly.

Bella scoffed at me. "Coming from the person who watches _West Side Story_ almost every weekend." I glared at her, but she kept speaking. "Besides, I haven't seen this version. It's supposed to be the best."

From outside, a horn honked three times telling me that my ride was there. "First of all, _West Side Story_ is a great movie, not at all boring like that junk." I pointed towards the TV. "And second, don't forget to get ready for your party tonight. Alice and I will both be very disappointed if you show up in what you're wearing now."

Without waiting for an answer, I detached myself from the wall and exited the house. I was surprised to see Jasper sitting in the Cullen's sleek black car waiting for me instead of Alice. He seemed to sense my confusion because he explained as soon as I got into the car.

"Alice has already started getting the house ready so she sent me to pick you up instead."

I gave a small groan as Jasper backed out of the driveway. "That little traitor, she promised she would wait for me."

"It's Alice, you can't honestly tell me this doesn't surprise you." Jasper chuckled.

As much as I wanted to disagree, I couldn't. It just wasn't in Alice's nature to sit around and wait when there was something to be done. Especially if that something was getting ready for a party. Jasper and I made small talk to fill the short amount of time it took us to get from my house to his.

"Well, it doesn't look like she's done too much without me," I muttered as I got out of the car, looking up at the lanterns that hung above the front door.

Jasper gave me a look before walking into the house, me following closely behind.

There were flowers everywhere. Hundreds of pink roses lay in a pile in the front entryway with Alice sitting next to them, pulling the petals from the stems and collecting them in a large crystal bowl.

"Alice, I thought I said we had to downplay it for Bella." I reminded, stepping forward to stand in front of her.

"I am downplaying it," Alice said, looking sheepishly up at me.

"This doesn't look very low key." I pointed out, nodding my head towards the stack of roses next to her.

Alice looked at the roses for a moment before shaking her head. "I already have the roses in bowls set up in the living room. These are the extras. I thought we could take the petals and sprinkle them around the tables."

I opened my mouth to comment only to scream in surprise instead as two large hands grabbed my sides and lifted me from the ground.

"Emmett!" I screamed, knowing exactly whom it was that had snuck up on me.

"God I've missed you, Al."

He sat me back on the ground before spinning me around and picking me up once more for a hug. I wrapped my own arms around his neck and returned the hug. Although I hadn't missed having him sneak up behind me every time I came over and scaring me, I had missed him.

"I thought you were in Africa," I said as soon as I let him go, backing up a step to look up at him. It had been a few weeks since he and Rosalie had "gone off to college" which translated to them traveling.

"We were, but I wasn't going to miss this. A chance to pick on your sister, it's a no-brainer."

I shook my head at his smirk before playfully hitting him in the arm. "You be nice to her, it's her birthday after all."

Emmett shrugged his shoulders, brushing the comment off before nodding behind me. Looking over my shoulder I saw Alice standing there holding her large glass bowl full of pink rose petals. Looking down at the pile, I saw that it was all stems now.

"Dang Alice."

She just smiled at me before telling Emmett to pick up the now useless flower stems and get rid of them. With a roll of his eyes, he grabbed the entire pile in his large arms and took them outside. Alice then grabbed one of my hands and dragged me up the steps until we were in the living room where hundreds of candles sat in one corner while bowls of roses sat in another.

"We're going to spread these out, right Alice?" I asked, my mouth dropping slightly. In the back of my mind I wondered if this is what it had looked like while she was getting ready for my party a few months ago.

"Oh course," She assured before telling me her plan.

She wanted all the flowers and candles to be in the living room and then to have the petals she has just plucked scattered across tabletops and the top of Edward's piano. It took some talking down but I was soon able to convince her to cut the number of candles and flowers down by half. We compromised by using them to set up the back porch as well. We worked for hours, making sure every little thing was perfect.

"Edward just pulled in with Bella," Jasper informed us at twenty to seven.

Alice and I straightened up from the cluster of candles we were lighting, surprised looks on both our faces.

"But we're not ready yet." I told him, looking around the room. Candles still had to be lit, the cake was still in the kitchen, and Esme and Carlisle hadn't returned from hunting.

"He'll just have to take her to his room or something and stall," Alice said, returning to her work of lighting candles.

Groaning, I started out of the room. "I guess I'll go tell him that." I muttered before heading down to the front entry were I met Edward and Bella taking off their coats. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at the pair of them. "Don't you two know how to read a clock? You're early."

Bella looked down at her feet while Edward shook his head at me. "I know, I know. But I wanted to show Bella something."

"Well, it better not be in the living room because we aren't finished yet."

"It's not, it's upstairs," Edward assured, grabbing Bella's hands and slowly leading her up the stairs towards the bedrooms.

"You better stay up there until we're ready or I'm going to stake your ass, Eddie." I yelled up at them, even though I knew staking him would have no effect.

The sound of his laughter trickled down to me, causing me to huff before heading back to the living room. Alice had finished lighting all the candles and was now bringing the cake in from the kitchen. It was a lot smaller than mine had been, and a lot less extravagant, but still looked elegant and impressive which made it perfect for Bella. We finished off everything just as Esme and Carlisle returned from their hunting trip. With one last look around the room, Alice skipped off to go and collect the birthday girl just as the clock stroke seven.

All the remaining Cullen's stood around waiting for my sister with me, smiles on all of their faces. Well, except for Rosalie but she didn't really count. When Alice led my sister into the living room, the look on her face was priceless. I wish I had her camera so that I could have taken a picture of it.

"I tried to keep Alice from going overboard, Bells," I promised as she came down the stairs. "Trust me, it could have been a lot worse."

Alice gave a scoff and flashed me a mock glare as Esme and Carlisle hugged my sister and wished her a happy birthday. The pixie-like vampire then skipped out of the room, using her enhanced speed, before returning with a small silver device in her hand. With a quick flash, she took a picture of the group with Bella's camera.

"I found it in your coat pocket. Mind?"

"Dating an older woman. Hot." Emmett seemed to stage whisper to Edward, nudging the bronze haired vampire.

A blush covered Bella's cheeks while I glared at Emmett. "Beast, what did I say about picking on the birthday girl?"

"Hey, you never said anything about picking on Edward. It's not my fault everything embarrasses Bella." Emmett pointed out, winking at my sister, which caused her face to go completely red.

I glared and stuck my tongue out at him but didn't say anything else as Rosalie stepped forward and handed Bella a small silver package.

"It's a necklace," she said before Bella could even remove the ribbon, her tone letting us all know that she was not enjoying herself. "Alice picked it out."

Moving quickly, Alice pushed me towards my sister. "How about a picture of the sisters."

I rolled my eyes at her but put an arm around Bella's waist and smiled while Alice stood in front of us. We stood there for a moment, waiting for the flash to go off. When the picture was taken, I move to the side and stood next to Carlisle and Esme while Alice went and grabbed Edward. After pushing him and Bella together, she once again held up the camera to take a picture.

"Show me the love!" She cried when the two just stood there. At the command, they put their arms around each other before looking lovely at one another. Once the picture was taken, Alice smiled widely before skipping over to the gift table once more.

"This one's from Emmett and Jasper."

I watched as Bella took the box and looked at it with a confused expression before lifting it to her ear before shaking it. Furrowing my brows, I looked behind me at Emmett and Jasper who were standing next to one another.

"It's a new radio," Jasper informed her, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Already installed it in your truck," Emmett added happily, a proud smile on his face.

"Wait, you got her a radio for the truck, that's not fair," I said turning to look at both of them. "All I got from you was a jacket."

Emmett gave a chuckle before coming to stand next to me, placing a large arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry, you can enjoy the radio too. Plus, I thought you liked the jacket. It makes you look more badass."

I looked down at the jacket I wore before sighing in defeat. He was right. "I do look pretty badass, don't I?"

"For a human," Jasper muttered a few steps away, causing everyone in the room to laugh while I stuck my tongue out at him. Even Rosalie cracked a small smile.

"Someone just give Bella another present." I insisted after a while.

Alice obliged and handed Bella the gift from Esme and Carlisle.

"Something to brighten your day," Carlisle said with a smile.

"You've been looking a little pale," Esme added, her white teeth shining as they watched Bella open their gift.

It seemed like they were hinting at something, but we never found out what. Bella, being the klutz she was, sliced her finger on a bit of the wrapping and caused a small bead of blood to bubble up to the surface of her skin. The next thing I knew, everything turned to slow motion as the atmosphere in the room took a drastic turn.

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Authors Note:: Not the best of endings but this chapter got long quick. I had originally planned for Jasper to freak out and all the good stuff at the end of this, but that didn't happen. Oh well. At least you guys got to see some major Alex/Cullen bonding time. Now I would like to talk about the first chapter because holy cow you all blew me away with your response! We got 8 reviews, 29 favs, and 46 follows- in two days! Not to mention all the profile and story views. That is amazing! I can't thank you all enough! It means so much to me that you would take the time to leave me such kind words about this story or my writing, like it enough to add it to your favorites, or even follow it because you want to read more. Just, you guys are awesome and I love you all! :)


	3. Trying to Make Things Better

**Chapter Three: Trying to Make Things Better**

I watched as Jasper made an expression I had never seen on his face before; his eyes were wild, his nostrils were flared, and his perfect white teeth were bared in a terrifying snarl. Moving quickly, he charged across the room, his dark eyes locked on my sister. Edward acted fast, pushing Bella back before meeting Jasper head on. They connected solidly causing a thundering clap of noise to echo through the room. Edward took the blonde vampire by the shoulders and launched him across the room, the piano cushioning his fall before he jumped up and started towards Bella again.

I watched from the side with wide eyes before I was lifted by Emmett and thrown into the air. It was so sudden that I didn't have time to ever breath before I was caught in the strong arms of Esme. She held me protectively as Carlisle and Emmett both moved to stop Jasper. I almost thought he was going to get past them when they grabbed his arms from behind and held him in place though he tried to wiggle out. Alice finally stepped forward and grabbed her mates face, forcing him to look at her as she whispered soothing words.

"Shhh…Jazz…It's okay, it's okay. It's just… a little…blood."

As though we were all one, we turned our heads to look at my sister sitting on the ground, her left arm clutching her right, which was covered in blood. Shattered glass and flowers sat around her. I had seen Edward push her behind him but had been so distracted by Jasper that I hadn't seen were my sister had landed.

Wiggling out of Esme's grasp, I ran to my sister and knelt down at her side. Keeping my gaze away from her arm and the blood, I looked at her face. "Oh god, Bella," I muttered, brushing her hair gently as I fought back tears.

Within seconds, Carlisle was kneeling on Bella's other side. "Emmett, get Jasper out of here."

I looked up and watched as Emmett quickly looked away from Bella's arm and gave a nod before dragging a still snarling Jasper out of the room, Rosalie following close behind. I couldn't exactly tell, but I think she had a smug look on her perfect face. Esme gave Bella and I an apologetic look before exiting the room as well.

"I'm sorry, I…I can't…" Alice apologized before leaving. Her voice sounded so dejected that it just about broke my heart.

"I'll have to stitch this up," Carlisle muttered, his eyes on Bella's wound. "Would you like to go down to the hospital or take care of it here?"

Reluctantly, Bella turned her gaze from Edward and instead let it fall on Carlisle. "Um, here."

Carlisle gave a small nod before turning to his adoptive son, "You should go talk to Jasper. I'm sure he's very upset with himself and doubt he will listen to anyone but you right now."

I looked up at Edward where he stood unmoving. He was paler than I had ever seen him, but his face was void of expression. He continued to stand there, the seconds ticking by, before finally making his way rigidly across the room and outside.

"Alex, help me get your sister up to my study." Carlisle's voice pulled me back to the situation at hand. After giving my head a quick shake, I grabbed my sister under the arm and helped walk her up to Carlisle's study while he kept pressure on her other arm.

"Alex, could you please get me my bag, it's in the cupboard there." Carlisle instructed once we entered the study, supporting my sister and leading her over to his desk. I did as he asked and quickly got the black bag while Carlisle helped Bella out of her cardigan before clearing the blood away from her arm.

"I sure know how to kill a party." Bella muttered under her breath as I sat the bag on the desk next to her.

"It was an accident," I said, giving her a pointed look. "We all know how you are. Next year I'll make sure all the presents are in bags. Problem solved."

My sister flashed me a blank look while Carlisle offered a small smile. "She's right, it's not your fault. Jasper hasn't been away from human blood as long as the rest of us."

Carlisle asked me to grab him the bowl sitting on his bookshelf and I did, holding it out for him so he could dispose of the blood-soaked cloth he was holding. While he did that, Bella spoke. Although she was usually very quiet, she always talked whenever she was in the hospital for whatever reason. It probably helped distract her from the pain.

"How is it you're the only one it doesn't effect?"

Once again Carlisle gave a small smile. "Centuries of practice." Digging around in his black bag, he pulled out a long pair of silver teasers.

"What are you going to do with those?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"I have to get the glass out before I can stitch her arm up," Carlisle told me as he carefully started to do just that.

I quickly turned my head around, my shoulders and back stiff. "Okay, well then I'm out. Sorry Bella." I did not need to see Carlisle digging around in my sister's arm, I would probably pass out.

"Where are you going?" Bella asked just before I could completely walk through the doorway.

"I think I'll go talk to Jasper. I'm sure he's calmed down enough," I said without turning around.

Out of all the Cullen's, Jasper was probably my favorite and the one I was closest too. He and I just seemed to click. For whatever reason we just both felt comfortable around each other. We talked mostly, usually some problem I was having to which he would just sit there and listen before offering great advice. Over time, he opened up to me enough to tell me about his life before he was a vampire and things that seemed to frustrate him like how he was still struggling around humans after being a "vegetarian" for almost sixty years now. I think most of the reason he felt so comfortable around me was because my blood was easier for him to stand and he didn't always have to be on high alert like he did when Bella was around.

I was not going to let him beat himself up for something that was an accident.

Heading down to the living room, I walked in the direction the others had gone in before coming to a sliding glass door. I reached out for the handle only for it to be pulled away and my path blocked by Alice.

"How is he?" I asked quickly, "Is he okay."

"He's fine, Edward's talking to him now."

"Do you think I could talk to him?"

Alice bit down on her perfectly shaped lower lip. "I don't think that's a good idea."

I looked her in the eyes. "Please, Alice." My tone was almost desperate and I could tell she was thinking it over, maybe even looking into the future to see how things would go. She stood there for a few seconds before stepping aside.

"Just be cautious," she said before pointed towards the trees with a pale finger. "He's over there, just past the first ring of trees."

I promised to be careful before heading in the direction she indicated. It didn't take long for me to find the two males, their pale skin reflecting the moonlight. As I approached I could hear the soft hum of their voices but couldn't make out what they were saying as they spoke too fast. They seemed to finish when I was a few feet away because Edward turned and started walking towards me.

"What do you want Alex?" Edward asked once he reached me, his voice flat.

I rolled my eyes before taking a step forward. "I wanted to talk to Jasper."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Yeah, well I really don't give a crap," I said with a scoff before stepping around him and continuing towards Jasper. Behind me, Edward gave me a look before starting towards the house once more.

"Edwards right, you shouldn't be around me right now," Jasper muttered as I got closer. He had moved and was now leaning slightly against the trunk of a tree.

I stuck my arms in my jacket pockets, shaking my head as I stopped a few steps in front of him. "Why, because you're going to hurt me? I don't think so."

He had been outside in the fresh air for a while now so he had plenty of time to clear his head. After talking with Edward and me being down wind, I knew there was no way he would try and hurt me. Plus I had the bonus of my blood having very little appeal to him.

"You shouldn't beat yourself up over what happened in the house, it wasn't your fault."

He shook his head causing his blonde bangs to fall in his eyes. "No. I lost control and almost killed your sister. If it hadn't been for the others holding me back, I probably would have."

"If it hadn't been for the others you probably wouldn't have gotten into that situation in the first place." I pointed out. He looked at me confused for a minute. Sighing, I explained my statement.

"I was thinking. Remember when you told me that you don't just control people's emotion but that you feel them too? Well, when Bella got her paper cut, you didn't just feel your own blood lust, you felt everyone's. I saw the way Emmett was looking at Bella's arm and we all know how much Edward is affected by my sister's blood. So don't get mad at yourself for basically overdosing on emotions. It was something that was more or less out of your control."

Jasper looked at me for a moment before sighing. "I understand what you're saying, Alex. But that doesn't change the fact that I almost killed Bella. Acting on the other's added emotions or not, it would be myself that I would have to live with. Knowing that I killed your sister and my brother's mate-" He stopped.

Now it was my turn to sigh. "I know it's not going to change your mind, but I want you to know that I don't blame you for anything. And I'm sure that Bella feels the same way. It was an accident."

Stepping forward, I lifted my arms up and wrapped them around him the best I could. He stood stiffly for the longest time before finally returning the hug. We stood there for a while, just holding onto each other before I finally pulled away.

"I should probably go check on Bella now. She was getting glass picked out of her arm when I left her. I think she'd be mad at me if she didn't already know I was such a wimp."

Although it was faint, I saw a hint of a smile tug the corner of Jasper's lips. "Not a fan of blood?"

I shook my head. "Or pain. I'm too empathetic. If I see the glass being pulled from her arm I feel it in my own." I thought suddenly crossed my mind and I bumped my shoulder into him. "I guess that makes me sort of like you."

The smile grew slightly, "I guess it does."

"I would probably be a terrible vampire though, what with all the blood and stuff." I mused, scrunching my nose up slightly.

That earned a chuckle from Jasper. "You'd be surprised how much the transition changes you."

Together we walked back towards the house. Although I was sure Jasper was still beating himself up over what happened, it made me feel a little better that I had gotten him to smile; even if it had just been a small one.

By the time we entered the house I saw that Bella and Edward were actually waiting for me, Bella's arm all bandaged up and covered by what looked like a jacket borrowed from Alice. With a small wave goodbye to Jasper, I followed my sister and Edward out of the house and over to the truck. A large red bow stuck to the new stereo Emmett had gotten for the truck, serving as a silent reminder to what had happened.

The entire ride home was an awkward one. Edward drove but said nothing, his face dark and calculating as he stared out the windshield. From the middle, Bella studied him while I sat there looking out the window. Tension was so thick I probably could have cut through it like a knife. When Edward pulled into the driveway, I was out of the car before it had completely stopped. Edward continued to look out the front window while Bella gave me a confused look.

"I'm just going to let you guys talk…" I explained, trailing off slightly. "See you later, Edward."

For the first time since we got in the truck, Edward's eyes flickered to mine. There was something in them, but I couldn't tell what. Walking towards the house, I brushed it off as the worry for what could have happened to Bella.

* * *

Authors Note:: Ugh, this was one of those chapters where I knew what I wanted to say but couldn't find the right words. I will defiantly be fixing this update later. Anyway, thank you so much to the people who reviewed the previous chapter: **Lulu85**, **wolfhappines**s, **lostfeather1**, and **White Hunter**. Thanks for the support, it's what keeps me motivated to pump out updates quickly. Don't worry, Jake will be back very soon ;) As for Edward making the Cullen's leave town, yeah, Alex isn't going to take that very well. Especially since he leaves Bella in the woods. She is going to be pissed off so Edward better watch out. Thanks everyone else who has followed, favorited, or just read this story. You guys mean a lot to me as well! :)


	4. Gone

**Chapter Four: Gone**

Waking up in the morning I found it hard to get out of bed, well, harder than usual. I had spent most of the night replaying the events at Bella's birthday party over and over in my mind. After lying there for about five minutes, I finally found the strength to lift my body out of bed and make my way over to my closet where I pulled out a simple sweater and the scarf Alice had gotten me for my birthday a few months ago. Pulling the sweater over my head, I stepped into a random pair of jeans I had lying on my floor before wrapping the scarf around my neck as I made my way downstairs for breakfast.

It happened to be one of those rare mornings where Charlie was still home. Nodding sleepily at my dad, I grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and poured myself some cereal before sitting across from him. Neither of us were morning people so there wasn't any talking, his eyes scanning the morning paper while mine never left the table. Once I finished eating, I mumbled a goodbye before heading back upstairs to finish getting ready.

I returned downstairs ten minutes late, my backpack bouncing gently between my shoulder blades. While I was upstairs, Charlie had gone to work and Bella now sat in his place. When I entered the room, she slowly looked up from the table before rising and heading towards the door. I followed after her and slid into the passenger seat of the truck while she got behind the wheel. The drive was silent, as Bella seemed to be in her own little world. I tried to drown the quiet out by turning on the new stereo Emmett had installed only for a news report on the latest animal attack to come through.

School was boring and passed much too slowly. I sat in the back of my classes with Leslie either not paying attention or passing notes. When it finally came time for lunch, I parted from my red-haired friend and headed towards the cafeteria. Bella met me in the line, her eyes scanning the room.

"Still no sign of them?" I asked, knowing right away who she was looking for.

"No, and it doesn't make sense," my sister muttered, her shoulders sagging in disappointment. "It's cloudy, they should be here."

Sighing, I turned around to look at her. "Bella, after what happened last night I'm sure Jasper didn't want to come to school so Alice and Edward are staying home with him. I'm sure everything is fine."

Bella nodded her head but still didn't seem happy. Walking through the line, I got a sandwich, some vegetables, and a coke while Bella just grabbed an apple.

"Hey guys," I greeted, smiling as I sat my tray on the table and sat down next to Angela since Jasper wasn't there. Bella sat on my other side, rolling the red apple between her hands.

"Hi, Alex, Bella," Angela said, smiling sweetly at us.

Bella nodded her head while Angela and I started making small talk. A few minutes later, Mike, Eric, and Jessica joined us at the table. The five of us talked about random stuff for a while before I stole Bella's camera from her bag and we started taking pictures with it.

"So where are the Cullen's?" Jessica asked out of nowhere while Mike took an unflattering picture of Eric with his mouth full. "I mean, it's not nice enough out for them to be camping."

Bella turned to look at her but said nothing while I rolled my eyes.

"Have you ever thought that they might be sick, Jess?"

"All three of them?" Jessica asked, not able to let it go.

Before I could answer, Mike snuck up behind Jessica and took a picture, much to her displeasure. Turning her attention on the laughing blonde boy, she tried to get him to delete it while Mike jokingly made fun of her.

* * *

"Do you wanna come over?" Leslie asked after our last class while we walked to our lockers.

"Sure, Bella has to work so I'd just be at home by myself," I answered, putting in my combination and switching out books I wouldn't need for the ones I would.

Leslie smiled before slamming her own locker shut. "Awesome!"

Walking out of the school, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and sent a text to Bella so I didn't have to find her. I got a text back just as I was getting into Leslie's beat up silver car. All it said was 'okay'. Rolling my eyes, I returned the phone to my pocket and joked with Leslie as we made our way towards her house.

We had beat her mom home, something Leslie was glad about. Although her mom seemed nice, she was one of those parents that liked to hover making her the total opposite of Charlie. She was always offering snacks and drinks or just walking into Leslie's room to check on her. We ended up sitting in her room for a few hours, listening to music and occasionally working on homework. Her mom soon got home and brought us a snack though Leslie groaned and rolled her eyes.

6:00 o'clock came around and I decided that I should probably head home. Charlie would be getting off work in an hour and he and I were going to go to the diner for dinner. Putting my things in my backpack, Leslie drove me home.

"I thought you said your sister had to work," Leslie muttered, pulling alongside the curb of my house.

"She does, why?"

"Well, the truck is still here." As if to prove it, she pointed to the truck sitting in its normal spot in the driveway.

I looked at it, confused. "Maybe she got a ride? Mike's been offering for a month now." I told her before pulling out my phone. "I'll just text her to make sure. Thanks for the ride."

"No problem," Leslie assured. As I started walking up the driveway, texting out a message to my sister, she rolled down the window and yelled after me. "Do you miss the good old days when you didn't have to share the truck?"

I didn't look up or turn around but stuck my middle finger out at her. I heard her laughter before she put the car in gear and pulled away from my house. Rolling my eyes but smiling slightly, I continued to write the message to Bella while heading towards the front door. I was just reaching the stairs when I noticed something funny. The hair at the back on my neck seemed to stand up straight and I had a feeling that someone was watching me. Looking up from my phone, I quickly looked around in the hopes that I would find someone.

There was no one there.

Turning back around, I hurried up the stairs and entered the house, locking the door behind me. Letting out a breath, I sent the message to Bella and started kicking off my shoes. Seconds later, a faint tinkling met my ears. Looking around, I saw Bella's backpack sitting in one of the chairs and walked over to it. Coming closer, I saw a note sitting on the table in front of the backpack.

**_Going for a walk with Edward, up the path. Back soon, B._**

Furrowing my brows, I sat the note back on the table and dug around in her backpack, pulling out her phone a few seconds later. Confusion flooded my mind. I understood why Bella left the note, she knew I was with Leslie and didn't want me to worry in case I came home and she wasn't here. But it didn't make sense that her phone was in her backpack and that the truck was still in the driveway. Surely when she returned and saw I wasn't home yet she would have thrown the note away before she left for work.

_But if she's at work, why is the truck still here?_

It had to have been that she finally accepted Mike's offer of heading to work together. Deciding to find out, I pulled out my phone and called the Newton's store.

"Thanks for calling Newton's Olympic Outfitters, this is Mike, how can I help you?" Came Mike's bored voice after a couple rings.

"Hey Mike, it's Alex."

"Sup, Phoenix," Mike greeted, his voice perking up.

"Nothing. I was wondering, did you gave Bella a ride to work today?" I prayed that the answer would be yes.

There was a pause before Mike's confused voice said, "No. Actually, she's late and didn't call in. Mom kinda freaked out."

My breath caught in my throat.

"Alex? What's going on?" Mike asked.

"I gotta call my dad." Was all I said before hanging up on him quickly. Pulling my phone from my ear, I quickly punched in Charlie's extension number before returning it to my ear. As it rang, I started moving through the house in the hopes I would find Bella in one of the rooms.

After what seemed like forever, Charlie finally answered the phone. "Chief Swan."

"Dad!" I cried, stopping halfway up the stairs.

"Alex, what's wrong?" He asked right away. He must have heard the fear in my voice.

Panic surged through me as filled him in on what had happened, my words fusing together as I spoke fast. "It's Bella, I don't know where she is. She didn't go to work, the trucks still in the driveway, but she's not in the house. All I have is a note saying she went for a walk, but she should have been back by now. It's starting to get dark and I don't know what to do."

There was a small pause. "I'll be right there."

I could hear the faint sounds of papers shuffling and knew that he was probably on his feet, putting things away in a hurry. I managed to mumble out a 'hurry' before the line went dead. My breath came out shakily and I soon found it hard to stand, my legs shook too much. Using the railing for support, I sunk down and rested in the middle of the stairs.

Terrible visions of what might have happened to my sister played in my head no matter how hard I tried to keep them away. I don't know how much time passed, but I soon was able to calm my breathing down so that it was almost normal. Looking at my phone once more, I slowly started to dial a number before pushing the green call button. Bringing the device to my ear, I listened once again to it ring before a familiar voice picked up.

"Jacob, can you please come over, something bad happened."

* * *

Authors Note:: Sorry this update was a little late but I didn't really want to work on it because it was more or less filler and boring so I decided to plot instead of write. Although you all shouldn't be mad about that because I've come up with something I think you'll really like. Now, most of you have been wanting Jacob back but you'll have to wait a little more. He'll be in the next chapter and pretty much every chapter after that so hang in there. Now for the reviews on the previous chapter we got 9! That's amazing! Like I said before in _Dark Skies_, there will not be any Jacob/Bella romance or whatever. There will be drama between the two of them and Alex, but not that kind. I'm kinda excited for what I have planned. You'll all see just how mad Alex is soon, so get ready for that. I'm really glad you are all like Alex so much, she really is fun to write. Thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited, or read this story as well! :)


	5. Search Party

**Chapter Five: Search Party **

Charlie got home faster than I thought possible; the sirens of the cruiser announcing his arrival. The tires squealed as he pulled to a stop in the driveway before slamming his door and rushing into the house. He found me easily, still huddled in the middle of the stairs, my quiet sniffling giving away my location.

"Alex," he breathed as soon as I was in his sight, stepping forwards and pulling me from the stairs and into a powerful hug.

"Papa," I muttered into his chest, using the name I hadn't called him since I was a little girl. The familiarity of it along with his strong arms around me made me feel safe.

The hug lasted a few seconds before his hands were placed on my shoulders. Pushing me away slightly, he bent his legs so that he was able to look me in the eye. "Alex, I need you to tell me that happened."

I told him everything I knew, even showed him the note left by Bella.

"Did you check the woods to see if they were still there?"

I let out a heavy breath. I hadn't thought of that. "No. I sort of just panicked when I found out she wasn't at work like she was supposed to be."

"You stay here. I'm going to go look for her then," he said.

Rubbing one of my arms, he bent down and gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head before turning around and heading out the backdoor of the house, his hand pulling his flashlight from his belt. I continued to stand there for a few seconds before walking into the kitchen and taking a seat at the table. I was so stupid! Charlie was probably going to find the two of them sitting on a log or something, Bella having got so caught up in her conversation with Edward that she completely forgot about work. It wouldn't have been the first time.

Burying my face in my hands, I waited for Charlie to return with my love-struck sister. I was so going to kill her for putting me through this. I waited a few minutes before the door opened and someone walked in.

"Did you find her?" I asked, lifting my head and turning around.

"Find who?" Jacob asked, flashing me a confused look from where he stood in the doorway. "What's the emergency?"

"Sorry, I thought you were my dad," I said as he came to sit next to me at the table. I tried to ignore how my heart skipped a beat when my eyes met his. "Bella's missing. Charlie's out looking in the woods for her now."

I told him everything that I had told Charlie not too long ago. He looked worried as well and offered to go out and help Charlie, but I grabbed his hand just as he was standing up. I didn't want to wait alone. He looked at me for a moment before sitting back down. I gave him a smile of thanks.

Five minutes later, Charlie walked back into the house by himself. He seemed a little surprised to see Jacob sitting next to me, but he didn't comment on it.

"I couldn't find any sign of either Bella or that Cullen boy," he said, moving to lean against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed over his chest. "They must have gotten lost."

I shook my head. "That doesn't sound likely." I couldn't imagine Edward letting them get lost in the woods.

"Well, it's a big forest, I can't find them myself. I'm going to make a few calls, get a party together. Hopefully, we'll find them before it gets dark."

"I'll call my dad and have him send someone people," Jacob offered, pulling out his phone.

Charlie nodded his head at Jacob. "Thanks, Jacob."

I pulled out my phone as well, scrolling through the contacts until I came to Jaspers number. "I'll call the Cullen's and see if they've heard anything."

Charlie nodded to me as well before getting up and moving towards the old phone screwed into the wall. Picking the ugly green thing up, he dialed a number before placing the large device to his ear.

* * *

It didn't take long for the people Charlie called to show up at the house, all of them happy and ready to help. After splitting up into small groups, Charlie told Jacob and I to wait for the others while they started searching. We did as he asked, sitting together on the steps in front of the house. My mind was spinning and though Jacob tried to distract me, I wasn't listening.

Were they in some kind of trouble? Did Victoria all of a sudden show-up and now they were on the run again? Was that why none of the Cullens answered my phone calls? They were standing watch to see if a move was made. Was there something worse going on? I couldn't take not knowing. After a few minutes, I jumped to my feet and started pacing.

"Lexi, calm down. They'll find her." Jacob told me, his eyes following me as I walked back and forth in front of him.

I stopped for a moment, smiling slightly at my new nickname before nodding my head slightly. I knew he was right; that Charlie wouldn't stop until he found Bella. But I couldn't fight back my nerves sitting still; I had to move.

I continued to pace for about twenty minutes, stopping only for a few minutes to rest my legs. As the sky darkened, two trucks rolled to a stop in front of the house, both beds carrying at least four or five large kids. I recognized one of the drives right away as Harry Clearwater, a long time friend of Charlie's.

"Heard you needed some help," he called as he hopped out of the truck.

Jacob and I made our way over to him. I watched as some of the kids from the Reservation jumped over the side of the truck and landed with a soft thump on the grass. I recognized about half of them. Embry and Quil were among those in the back of the second truck while Sam and his cult had been in the back of Harry's. I shot a glare towards them before turning to Harry.

"Thanks for coming to help look. It means a lot to Charlie and me."

"Oh, you Swans are like family," Harry assured me, giving me a half-smile. "We'll find her."

People had been saying that for a few hours now and still Bella hadn't been found. Instead of pointing that out, I smiled and led them over to the large map Charlie had set up on the hood of his cruiser.

"Dad started looking over here. But that was about a half hour ago. He should be back soon if you all want to wait. He didn't say were he wanted to look next."

Harry nodded before going off to tell the others what I had said. I stayed by the truck looking down at the woods. I had never been good at reading maps; all the markings just confused me. Jacob soon joined me, pushing his dad in front of him.

"Hey, Billy," I greeted softly.

We fell into a tense silence after that, waiting for Charlie to come back. It was about ten minutes before he and the others of his search party broke through the tree line and started making their way towards us. Charlie seemed relieved to find so many new bodies waiting to help. With it getting darker every second they would need all the help they could get.

After looking over the map, Charlie figured out where they should look next before splitting the newcomers into groups too. There was a small disagreement, Harry insisting that Sam, Jared, and Paul would be fine by themselves as they know the woods better than everyone. I rolled my eyes that that.

They worked for hours, rotating every once and a while so a group could rest and get something to eat. More and more people showed up to help as time went on and I watched as Charlie grew more and more worried. It started to get cold around one in the morning so I went upstairs quick to grab my elephant blanket from my room. Although I wasn't part of the search parties, I refused to go to sleep until Bella was found. When I returned outside, I joined Jacob were he stood a step behind our fathers, once again bent over the large map of the woods. He put his arm comfortingly around my shoulders as we watched the older men plan their next move.

"Maybe we should call the Cullen's place again." Charlie muttered with a shake of his head.

"I can do it, Dad." I pulled my phone from my pocket, ready to try once more to reach the vampires I thought of as my second family. I knew I would get a hold of them eventually.

"They left town, Charlie," Billy said.

"What?" I asked, not sure I had heard him right.

Billy turned to me, his expression blank. "They left town this morning."

"Well where did they go?" Charlie asked, sighing heavily.

I returned my phone to my pocket. The Cullen's couldn't be gone. I had just seen them last night! Sure it hadn't been the best evening, but they would just leave because of it. Not without saying goodbye!

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice right away that Jacob was shaking me to get my attention. It wasn't until he said my dad's name and the older man ran past me that I realized what was going on. Turning around, I saw Charlie running faster than I'd ever seen him towards Sam who held a limp Bella in his arms.

"Bella!" I cried before taking off as well.

"She's all right," Sam announced in a booming voice as Charlie took Bella from him. Sliding to a stop next to them, relived tears slipping down my cheeks as I saw that my sister truly was unharmed.

"I got her." Charlie assured even though he struggled slightly to support her weight. "Thank you, Sam."

Charlie then started to carry her to the house. I was about to follow when I thought of something. Turning around, I looked up until my wet blue eyes found his dark brown. "I'm so sorry for judging you. Thanks for finding my sister."

I felt bad for thinking he was some kind of drug dealing creep the last few months. He gave me a confused look but didn't have a chance to say anything as I turned back around and chanced after Charlie. On the way towards the house, I passed Jacob who was looking uncomfortably over my shoulder. Placing a hand on his arm, he jumped slightly before looking down at me. I nodded my head towards the house and he nodded in return, casting one last look over my shoulder before following me into the house.

"Bella, are you hurt?" Doctor Gerandy was asking when we entered the house.

Walking into the living room, I stood next to Charlie and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.

There was a long pause before Bella answered, her voice quiet and weak. "I'm not hurt."

"What happened to you?" The doctor asked, checking Bella over. "Did you get lost in the woods?"

Once again it took a while for her to answer and when she did, it was barely a whisper. "Yes, I got lost."

Charlie asked if she was tired and she nodded her head. I took the blanket from around my shoulders and carefully laid it on top of her. Sitting down on the ground next to her, I waved everyone else out of the room as though to give her some space when in reality I needed to talk to her and I couldn't do that with the others listening. I heard Charlie asked Doctor Gerandy if it was true that the Cullen's had left and he confirmed it.

"Bella," I whispered as soon as everyone was gone.

"Hmm," She breathed softly, turning her head towards me and opening her eyes heavily.

"What happened in the woods with Edward?"

I regretted the question the moment it passed my lips. The look on her face was one of total heartbreak. I watched as the tears formed in her eyes and she bit her lip to keep them from falling.

"He's gone…He doesn't want me…they're all gone," she muttered slowly.

My breath caught in my throat. They couldn't be gone, they just couldn't.

"He's gone…He's gone…He's gone…" Bella moaned quietly over and over again, making it impossible for me to ask her anything else.

They were gone and I hadn't been able to say goodbye. That realization hit me harder than anything else. My last moments with them would forever be the moments after Bella was almost attacked by Jasper and that was not all right. I wanted a happy last memory to remember them by, not one full of pity and fear.

As I sat there, trying to remember how to breathe, another thought passed through my mind. If Edward really had gone for a walk with Bella before leaving, he had broken up with her before leaving her alone in the woods. He had pulled the biggest dick move in the history or dick moves.

"That asshole," I muttered angrily. How could he do that to my sister!

Fire replaced the sadness and it took everything I had not to start throwing and breaking things. After a few deep breaths, I slowly rose to me feet before helping Bella up from the couch. With one of her arms over my shoulder, I slowly started walking her out of the living room and towards the stairs.

"Alex?" Charlie asked, his eyes wide as he turned to Bella and me.

"I'm going to take her up to her room." I told him. "She'll be more comfortable in her own bed then on the couch."

Both he and Jacob offered to help me get her up there but I turned them down. This was something I had to do; they could never fully understand the situation that Bella and I were both in right now. The process was slow, but I was soon able to get her into her room. Closing the door, I set her down on her bed.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked, kneeling on the ground in front of her so that I was looking up at her, a hand on her knee.

"Scrapbook," was all she said.

I looked around the room until I was able to locate the scrapbook mom had given her for her birthday the day before. She must had been working on it last night after the party because I found it on her desk next to her computer, tape and a pen sitting next to it.

Picking the book up, I carried it over to her and sat it on her lap. She looked at the cover for a moment before opening it. She looked down at the first page for a moment before the book fell from her grasp. Her expression went blank as she slowly started to lie down on her bed, legs curled up close to her chest.

The action worried me, but no matter how much I tried, she never answered my questions or looked at me. After a while, I just bent down and picked the book up from the ground. The first page was empty, but I knew that it wasn't supposed to be.

_Edward Cullen, September 13th, _was scrawled in Bella's messy handwriting. He had taken the picture. Flipping through the first few pages I saw that he hadn't just taken that one. All the pictures labeled as any of the Cullen's had also been removed. It was as though they had never existed.

* * *

Authors Note:: And so starts the age of Jacob heavy chapters ^.^ You guys are really going to like chapter seven so get excited about that! Sorry about last chapter not being that long, it was a filler and I just wanted to get it finished. But this one was nice and long! Thanks for the seven reviews everyone, I love hearing from you! Can't wait for Jacob to be a werewolf, that's when drama starts. Edward is kinda stupid for leaving so many clues, but then again, he probably did it on purpose so they could find Bella after she got herself lost. And because zombie-Bella is no fun, we're pretty much going to skip over a lot of it and focus more on Alex and Jacob. We should probably be done with her depression in two to three chapter depending on if I want Alex to do something for Jacob's birthday or not seeing as that's right before she comes out of it. Thank you everyone else for following, favoriting, and reading this story! You're all awesome! :)


	6. Months Go By

**Chapter Six: Months Go By **

Bella and I handled the Cullen's leaving differently. While she retreated into herself and became more or less a zombie, I became a ticking time bomb. Rage built up inside me until it literally spilled out. I almost threw my phone across the room when the alarm rang to let me know it was time to get up (something I probably should have turned off seeing as I didn't fall asleep until really early in the morning), we were out of my favorite cereal (I found out when I tried to pour a bowl and only a few colored pebbles trickled out of the box), and I almost broke my laptop because I tripped over the cord. By noon, I was about to burst. As I stomped down the stairs, Charlie looked up from the TV.

"Where are you going?" He asked, confused because I was still in my pajamas.

"The woods." I muttered, pushing my feet into the shoes I kept by the front door and shoving my arms into my jacket. Like always it was raining and I didn't feel like catching a cold; that would just be the icing on the crappy cake that was my day so far.

He flashed me a worried look, probably thinking I would repeat what happened to Bella just hours before, but didn't get a chance to say anything as I walked out the door, slamming it behind me. Muttering under my breath, I kicked out at the ground every once and a while as I followed the path that wrapped around the house and led into the woods.

Unlike Bella, I continued to follow the path once I passed the tree line because I did not want to get lost; I just wanted to let off some of my steam. I walked down the trail until it turned off into a small clearing. Once there, I stood in the middle before screaming for as long and as loud as I could. After about a minute, I could feel my voice start to crack and strain, but I didn't stop. I screamed for as long as I was able and when the sound became impossible, I found a large stick, picked it up, and started using it to hit one of the trees surrounding the clearing.

It felt good to get rid of some of the anger and betrayal that had built up inside me over night, but it didn't take away the hurt over the fact that the Cullen's were gone. They were gone and I hadn't been able to say goodbye. Knowing Edward, I assumed they had left because he felt it would keep Bella safe. He was probably trying to protect to me too though I wouldn't know for sure because he only saw Bella before leaving town. If he would have shared this plan with Bella or me, I probably still wouldn't like it but it would have at least given me a chance to process it all. It also would have given me a chance to say goodbye.

That was the part that ate at me the most. Sure they were his family first, but over the past couple months I had grown to see the Cullen's as my family as well. That's probably why it hurt so much. Did any of them try to go against Edward and see me before they left? Did they really care or was it all just an act? My heart tried to convince me that they would have said goodbye if they had been given the chance, that they really had liked me. But a small part of my brain wouldn't shut up and whispered that it had all been an act, that they had just put up with me because I was Bella's sister.

At the thought of it all being just pretend I struck out harder with my stick, despite my arms screaming in protest. I took a few more swings before dropping to my knees, my stiff fingers releasing the now much shorter branch. The tears feel freely down my cheeks mixing with the slight drizzle of rain that managed to get past the canopy of trees.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, as everything seemed to blur together. Everything around me was green and brown, my body hurt as well as my heart, and I just wanted to go to bed. I was so tired that I didn't even flinch when a pair of big hands wrapped themselves around my upper arms to pull me up so I was standing before pulling me into a hug.

I just stood there, crying into their chest for a few minutes before my tears finally seemed to run out. Sniffling heavily, I lifted a hand and ran it over my face to hopefully get ride of some of my tears. Then, with puffy eyes, I looked up into the face of Jacob Black.

"Hi," I said weakly. I mean, what else can you say when one of your best friends finds you bawling your eyes out in the woods?

"Hi," he said back.

"Why are you here?"

Jacob nodded his head off in the direction I could only assume the house was in. "Charlie called my dad. He was worried about you."

"I didn't mean to worry him. I just…I had to get rid of some of these feelings." I told him, my voice hoarse from all the yelling and crying I had just done.

"Do you feel better?"

I shook my head, not wanting to lie to him. "Not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I stood there for a moment before nodding my head. I needed to talk to someone about this and Jacob seemed like the best person to do that. He might not have known the Cullen's, but he had known Bella, he would be able to understand some of it better than if I called and talked to Leslie.

With an arm around my shoulder, holding me tight to him, he walked us over to a large stump at the edge of the clearing. Sitting down, he waited for me to tell him everything. After taking a deep breath, I did just that.

Although I had to edit certain parts about the Cullen's I tried to tell him all my feelings about them. I told him how most of them I felt really close with like Jasper and Emmett. How Esme and Carlisle were like a second set of parents and Alice was like another sister. And then I told him how mad it made me that they didn't say goodbye. I confessed my thoughts and worries about how it all might have been an act.

Jacob never once interrupted me. He sat patiently and listened to me before speaking when I was finished. He told me that it would be impossible to pretend to like me because I was too good of a person and that it was their loss for leaving without any notice. I tried to ignore how my heart seemed to skip a beat as he spoke so kindly about me; I almost wanted to start crying again. Put I held it together and tried to scare away the butterflies that started to flutter in my stomach once again.

"Now let's go back inside and watch a movie," Jacob said once he finished making me feel better.

"Disney?"

A small smile pulled on my lips as he rolled his eyes but nodded his head. "Yes, Disney."

"_Beauty and the Beast_?"

"If that's what you want to watch."

Together we got up and started making our way back towards the house. Halfway there I wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him a hug.

"Thanks for being such and awesome friend. I don't know what I would do without you."

I said the word friend in the hopes that my brain would send my heart the message. My friendship with Jake was too important to put into jeopardy. I would not throw that away with stupid feelings, even if they seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.

* * *

**OCTOBER:**

"Is it still quiet there?" Jacob's quiet voice asked through the phone.

I nodded my head even though I knew he couldn't see me. "Yeah, maybe she's got it all out of her system."

For the past three weeks now Bella had been having nightmares in the middle of the night. They never seemed to attack her at the same time each night making them hard to try and prevent. Charlie and I were pretty much stuck waiting for her to start screaming, which was the indicator that she was having a nightmare, so we could help her.

The last few nights, though, I had been staying up in the hopes of reaching Bella before Charlie so he didn't have to come racing up the stairs. It was hard at first, but I'd learned it was easier if I distracted myself. That's where Jacob came in. I've been staying up late talking to him for three nights now.

"I feel really bad for making you stay up with me," I confessed. "You know you don't have to answer the phone. I'll understand."

"Nah, I don't mind. I catch up on the sleep I missed in History so it's no problem." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't do that. What is Billy going to say when he finds out you're flunking History because you stay up all night talking to me?"

"Dad wouldn't mind; he loves you."

"So don't give him a reason to hate me," I teased, laughing slightly. "I think I'm going to call this nice a peaceful one and try to get some sleep. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Goodnight, Lexi."

"Goodnight, Jake."

Ending the two-hour long call, I hooked my phone to its charger and made sure my alarm was set before burrowing under my covers for some sleep. It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when Bella's screaming filled the house. I was confused for only a moment before I realized what was happening. Jumping out of bed, I ran from my room into hers were I found my sister thrashing in bed. Crossing the room quickly, I tried to grab her arms to keep her from hurting herself while I tried to wake her up. I was just accomplishing that when Charlie came charging into the room. He looked around confused for a moment before relaxing when he saw everything was fine.

"I've got her dad, go back to sleep," I told him as Bella quietly started to sob into her pillow.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

I nodded my head before slowly getting into the bed with Bella. "I'm sure."

He looked at me for a moment as I pulled Bella's head onto my lap and started brushing her hair with my hand. He closed the door behind him when he left, leaving Bella and I completely alone. I muttered soothing words to her like how it was going to be okay throughout the night. Although the part of me that liked sleep wanted to be mad, I just wasn't. Sure I was made about the Cullen's leaving, but I had Jacob to talk to and make me feel better. Bella had only me, and my heartbreak didn't even come close to hers. If I had to miss out on sleep to make my sister feel even a little better, it was worth it.

* * *

**NOVEMBER:**

I really hated math.

But despite my hatred for the dumb subject I couldn't have my grade be as low as it currently was. Granted it was only a C, but it was a pretty low C. When the bell rang signaling the end of class I made the decision to stay back and get help. This year my teacher was a lot nicer so I didn't feel too nervous going up to ask him for help. He smiled at me and went over a few of the problems, explaining everything step by step. I was amazed when I actually understood what he was saying.

"I think you should head off to lunch now, Miss. Swan," he said after a couple minutes.

As soon as he said that, my stomach growled as though to agree with him. Packing up my things, I thanked him for the help before heading towards the cafeteria. Not wanting to waste time at my locker, I brought my books with me. It was a struggle to both them and a tray of food, but I somehow managed it.

My friends were already seated at the table, halfway finished with their food by the looks of it. I made my way towards my usual spot when I noticed Bella wasn't there. I wasn't the only one.

"So Bella's not only not going to speak to us, she's not going to sit with us either." Jessica was saying, as I got closer.

Glaring at the back of her head, I quickened my pace and sat my tray and books down at the table. "What are you complaining about now, Jess?" I asked, my hands on my hips.

I watched as her cheeks reddened. "I-uh-Bella's sitting over at the old Cullen table, I was just…" She trailed off after that, embarrassed for having been caught.

The others were all looking around sheepishly, all feeling awkward over the situation. I turned my head to the table in the corner and saw that Bella was in fact sitting at the old Cullen table. I turned back to Jess.

"Jess, my sister sitting at another table is no concern of yours so please keep your big nose out of it."

I knew that I was being mean, but the thought of the Cullen's and what they did to Bella and me now caused me to see red. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down, knowing that it wouldn't be until tonight that I could talk to Jacob about it. Jessica nodded her head quickly before changing the subject. I sat down and picked at my food, not really hungry anymore.

* * *

**DECEMBER:**

I sat in bed, legs crossed and my math homework spread out in front of me. My head rested in my left hand while I tapped the book with the pencil held in my right. Thought math was becoming easier for me to understand, I still found it boring and didn't want to do it. Sighing, I decided to just close the book and call it a night, using my notebook as a bookmark. I still had the weekend; I would finish it then.

Getting out of bed, I picked the book up and carried it over to my desk. I then picked up a book and carried it over to my bed. After getting comfortable, I opened the book and started reading. I had reached chapter two when my phone started to ring.

"Hello," I answered, my eyes still taking in the words on the page.

"Hey, Lexi, it's me," came Jacob's familiar voice, "What are you up too?

"Oh, you know, the usual. Avoiding my responsibilities by reading and talking to you."

I heard him chuckle on the other end of the phone for a moment before clearing his throat. "Um, so I called because I, uh, wanted to ask you something."

"Okay, ask away."

I was still reading my book so I was only half paying attention to him. Maybe if I weren't slightly distracted I would have noticed the faint awkwardness that colored Jacob's voice. There was a slight pause before he started stuttering.

"I was wondering if—well we don't have to—but if you wanted to we could, maybe, do something this weekend."

"Yeah sure," I muttered absentmindedly, turning the page.

"I meant… Like, uh, like a date."

My eyes snapped away from my book for the first time since I answered the phone. Did he just say what I thought he said? My mind went into overdrive as I tried to processes what had just happened and how I should handle it. I wanted nothing more than to say yes, but my brain finally woke up and told me to calm down and think about it. He was my friend and if the date didn't go well he probably wouldn't be my friend for much longer.

"Um, Lexi?"

"Sorry," I said quickly, realizing that I hadn't given an answer. My heart gave a quick flutter at the sound of his voice and I knew my answer. "Yes. A date sounds fun." I mentally beat myself up for saying that. 'A date sounds fun?' What, was I an idiot?

"Cool," Jacob answered, his voice much more confident. "Um, tomorrow night?"

"Yeah. That works for me."

"I'll call you tomorrow with the details," he said before saying goodbye.

I said goodbye as well before hanging up my phone and letting out a sigh. It was going to happen, I was going to go on a date with Jacob Black tomorrow. Although a small part of me was worried, the rest of me was excited and a large smile stayed on my lips for the rest of the night.

* * *

Authors Note:: I hate work, it always finds a way to take up all my time. Anyway, I told ya you guys were going to like chapter seven! Alex and Jacob are going to go on their first date! yay! Let me know what you guys think they're going to do, that just sounds like a fun idea to me for some reason. I hope you all liked the rest of this chapter. I didn't want to spend too much time with Bella's depressed months so I kinda just skimmed over them so we could get to more fun stuff. Thanks to the eight people who reviewed last chapter. If ya'll don't stop being so sweet you're probably going to make me cry :) Thanks everyone else who had favorited, followed, or is just reading this story. You guys mean a lot to me too!


	7. The Date

**Chapter Seven: The Date **

"Why don't you just wear what you usually do when you hang out with him?"

"Because I'm not going to wear jeans and an old t-shit," I snapped slightly before sighing heavily and sinking down to the ground next to my bed. "Leslie, please, I'm freaking out here."

My room was a mess. It looked like a bomb had gone off inside it. Before calling Leslie, I had pretty much tried on every article of clothing I owned and thrown it aside when I decided it wasn't good enough. My red-haired friend's mouth had pretty much hit the floor when she saw it. After shaking her head a bit, she cleared off a space on my bed and sat down, watching me as I went back and forth trying to pick something.

"Well, what about a dress? You don't wear those too often," Leslie suggested, leaning back on my pillows with her legs stretched out over a pile of jeans and skirts.

"I know, but most of the dresses I own are to fancy for going to see a movie," I pointed out, gesturing to the chair in front of my vanity where a small collection of dresses were draped, one on top of the other.

Leslie pushed herself up from the bed and walked over to the pile, fingering through them until she pulled out two. Draping one over each arm, she held them out for me to see. They were close to the same style: sleeveless with a square neckline, one a solid green color while the other was a multi-colored print. After looking both of them over, she put the print dress back and handed me the green.

"I like this one better," she said before looking around the room, throwing either a shirt of scarf aside when it wasn't what she was looking for. After a while, she made a triumphant noise before lifting a jean jacket and throwing it at me. "There ya go, all set."

Getting on my knees, I pushed aside the remaining clothes on my bed before setting the outfit out. After looking it over for a moment, I nodded my head approvingly. "I like it."

After talking it over, we decided that because I was a little pale, my "tan" from the summer long since faded away, I would wear a pair of tights over my legs to avoid blinding someone from their brightness. Jewelry wasn't a problem seeing as I only ever wore my elephant necklace and the bracelet Jacob got me for my birthday. After thanking Leslie a million times, I walked her to the door before heading upstairs once again to get ready.

Placing my dress on a hook, I hung in on a knob of the cabinet in the hopes that the warm air from my shower would help get rid of some of the wrinkles. After washing everything, I left the bathroom and returned to my room where I sat in front of my vanity (after once again pushing clothes out of the way) and started doing my makeup. I played it up a little more that usual, doing more than just lining my eyes and applying mascara. I still paid close attention to my eyes, applying shadow, liner, and mascara so that my blue eyes seemed to pop before adding just a small amount of lip-gloss to my lips. But I also put on a little canceler and foundation to even out my face.

My hair I left simple, playing with it while it dried so that my waves weren't too crazy. While it finished drying, I put on my dress, jacket and tights before turning on my curling iron so it could heat up while I brushed my teeth. When I came back to my room, I used the iron to curl the hair around my face so that it was framed nicely before grabbing my bag and putting on my black high tops.

Picking up my phone, I looked at the time and decided that I might as well get going. Jacob had texted me this morning, asking if I could drive seeing as his car wasn't finished yet and his dad needed their truck for something. Making my way downstairs, I hopped the last two steps, excited to get going.

"Where are you going all dressed up for?" Charlie asked on his way from the living room to the kitchen.

I stopped on my way to the front door, turning on my heel and moving so I stood in the doorway. "I've got a date."

"A date?" I watched as his brows came together in confusion. "With who?"

"Jacob."

My eyes widened as Charlie's face lit up. "You've got a date with Jacob?" He asked, wanting to confirm what he had just heard.

I nodded my head slowly. I hadn't expected him to act this happy about me going on a date, even if it was with the son of his best friend. Charlie seemed very interested in knowing what we were going to be doing. He then asked a few more questions before I finally pointed out that I needed to go or I was going to be late.

"Alright, have fun!"

I stopped on my way to the door, turning around and eyeing him suspiciously. "That's it?"

"Huh?"

"You aren't going to remind me to be back by a certain time or say that if he hurts me you're going to hunt him down with your gun or arrested him, anything like that?"

Charlie looked at me blankly for a moment. "Why would I do that?"

I scoffed heavily, "Because that's what you're supposed to do. You're my dad."

"Okay, um. Make sure you're back by eleven and tell him I said I know where he lives in a threatening way."

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head slightly before grabbing the keys for the truck. For once it wasn't raining so I didn't have to run to the truck and risk falling on my ass on a path of ice. It was cold though so when I got into the truck, I turned the heat on high and waited for the warmth to start coming out before backing out of the driveway heading towards the reservation.

Jacob must have been waiting because I hadn't even put the truck in park before he was running out of his house and hopping into the passenger seat. My chest suddenly tightened as he turned to look at me, my favorite goofy grin in place.

"Sorry I couldn't pick you up, dad refused to let me borrow the truck," he said as I left the front of his house.

"It's no problem," I assured. "And just so you know, Charlie was being real threatening. He said that he has guns and that he knows where you live."

Jacob chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure Charlie said that."

I sighed, not being able to lie. "You're right, he didn't. All he did was look excited and said have fun."

"That's because he likes me. Might even like me more than he likes you."

"Shut up." Reaching out, I playfully hit him in the shoulder while he laughed.

"If it makes you feel any better, my dad was acting all excited too. You almost would have thought he was the one going on a date."

"What can I say, he likes me more than you." I teased, smirking as I threw what he had said to me back at him.

"Ha. Ha."

Neither Forks nor La Push had a movie theater so we had to drive all the way to Port Angeles. It was a bit of a journey for the truck, but I wasn't worried. I joked that if it decided to stop working at least I had someone with me who could probably fix it. The drive passed by much quicker that I had thought, and not as awkward. We fell into conversation easily like we usually did when we were hanging out in his garage or in my living room watching a movie.

When we finally got to the theater, I had to park a bit away. It was cold, so I pulled my jacket closer around me and huddled next to Jacob who put an arm across my shoulders. Entering the theater, I started breathing warm breaths on my hands while Jacob looked up at the board and picked a movie.

"How do you feel about _Return of a Nightmare_?"

"That new scary one that came out?"

"Yeah."

I looked up at the board, hesitant. Scare movies were not my thing, there was a reason I liked Disney and older movies. Jacob sensed my hesitation.

"You don't like horror movies, do you?"

"Not really."

Jacob looked back up at the board. "Well, we could see something else."

I could hear the slight disappointment in his voice. Taking a deep breath and swallowing my fear, I rested a hand on his arm.

"We can go see it."

"No, I'm fine with seeing something else," Jacob assured but I shook my head.

"No, we're going to see that scary one." I watched as he smiled before turning towards the ticket counter. "Um, how are you going to get tickets, though?" He stopped before he had even taken a step.

"Right," he said slowly. He was still sixteen and couldn't buy a ticket for an R rated movie.

I laughed before stepping forward and buying us two tickets. The lady smiled at me and told me to enjoy the movie as she slid me the tickets. I thanked her before turning back around and walking over to Jacob.

"Here you go, youngin'," I teased, handing him his ticket.

"Very funny," he muttered as we made our way over to the concession stand. "You know, with me being younger than you that makes you a cougar, so how does that make you feel?" He pointed out as we stood in line.

"Ew, I am not a cougar. Your birthday is in a month, we'll be the same age then."

He paid for a popcorn and drinks before we headed off to the theater where our movie was going to be shown. The movie had come out a week ago so it was still pretty full. Luckily, Jacob and I were able to find two seats towards the back just in time for the previews to start. Jacob pointed out movies he would like to see when they came on screen while I just munched on some popcorn. They all looked like action movies so I realized I was going to have to get used to them types of movie if this whole dating Jacob thing worked out. He watched my favorite movies with me so it only seemed fair that I watch his with him.

I spent most of the movie with my head buried in Jacob's chest. Every once and a while I would brave a look at the screen only to scream slightly before hiding my face once more. Jacob seemed to enjoy the movie as he laughed frequently throughout the length of it. At least, I hoped he was laughing at the movie instead of me. When the brutal two hours were finished, we walked out together, my small hand firmly clutching one of his larger ones.

"That was the dumbest movie ever," he laughed.

"What are you talking about, that was terrible!"

He looked down at me, his goofy smile pulling on his lips. "Did you even see any of it?"

"I saw enough of it," I muttered, shuttering as I thought of the villain killing one of his victims, fake blood spilling out of his poor neck.

"Well I saw all of it and it was the funniest thing I had ever seen."

"I'll take your word for it then," I said as we headed out into the cold night air.

Getting into the truck, we sat in silence as I drove through the streets of Port Angeles before pulling onto the forest-lined road that would lead us home. It was a comfortable silence. We were half way there when Jacob told me to pull over. I looked at him confused but did as he asked. A small clearing was a few yards ahead so I pulled over when I got closer. Putting the truck into park, I saw that it must be a starting point for a trail because a sign sat half covered by bushes not too far away from us.

"So why did you want me to pull over?"

Jacob said nothing but pointed up out of the windshield. I looked where he was pointing, up at the sky and the millions of twinkling stars that sat against a black backdrop. They weren't as clear as I'm sure they used to a million years ago, but they looked a lot better than they did over town; what with all the lights always on and everything.

Turning the truck lights off, I moved over a bit so that I was sitting next to my date. Jacob put his arm around my shoulders and the two of us looked up at the sky together, the only noise coming from the rubble of the truck. I didn't mind it. In fact, I found it comforting. It blended nice with the pound of Jacob's and my hearts beating together.

* * *

Authors Note:: Okay guys, the next couple weeks are going to be busy for me so I'm changing my posting schedule. Instead of every other day, updates will now be coming every two days. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I know I went for the cliché by having them go to the movies, but it was the first thing that came to mind when I planned this out a while ago. The ending was kind of a spur of the moment thing so I hope it might make up for it a bit, or it's also cliché then whatever. That's so much for the reviews last chapter, there were eight of them. Bella's not going to know their dating until she comes out of her zombie state. I'm glad a lot of you were so excited for this, I hope I didn't disappoint. :) Thanks everyone else for following, favoriting, and just reading this story. You guys are all awesome! See you next chapter.


	8. Way Too Nice

**Chapter Eight: Way Too Nice **

The next month, though it was sappy to admit, was probably the best month of my life. Bella was still moping around and causing Charlie to go out of his mind with worry, but I didn't let it affect my mood. I understood that Bella was still missing Edward, but it had been over three months now and I wasn't going to let her depression ruin my life anymore.

Charlie must have developed similar feelings to mine because one morning while we were eating breakfast, he slammed his fist down on the table. It was such a surprised that both Bella and I looked up from our cereal.

"That's it, I'm sending you home!"

"I am home," Bella mumbled.

If it was even possible I think my face became even more surprised. In the past three months, I could probably count on my fingers how many times she had spoken.

"No. I'm sending you to Jacksonville to live with your mother."

"What? You can't send us to Jacksonville." Her voice was still quiet, but it had more strength than before.

"It'll just be you, Alex will be staying here."

Bella looked at me and I bowed my head, not being able to meet my sister's eyes. Charlie had mentioned a few weeks ago talking with Renée about Bella moving back with her. He hadn't asked if I wanted to stay, probably already knowing the answer seeing as I was dating Jake. I had forgot about it when nothing happened right away, but it seemed like the plans had finally come together.

"Why just me? Did I do something?" Bella asked, her face falling.

"That's exactly the reason, you haven't done anything the past few months."

Looking up, I bit my lip before adding, "You go to work and school, but you more or less go through the motions. You've barely spoken. It's like someone's died."

"You've got to move on, that bastard's not coming back."

For a moment I thought Bella was actually going to show some emotion, get mad, blush, cry, anything. But in the end she just nodded her head.

Charlie sighed. "It's just not normal, this behavior. Frankly, it's scaring the hell outta your sister and me, ever your mother is worried." His face relaxed a bit in what I assume was his encouraging face. "We don't want you to leave, but it might be for the best. Go to Jacksonville and make some new friends."

"I like my old friends," Bella muttered.

"Really? Because you never sit with us at lunch anymore," I pointed out, unable to stop myself.

Bella turned to me before shaking her head. "I'm going to fix that. I'll make plans with Jessica to go shopping or something."

"Bella, you hate shopping. Don't force yourself to do something just to make me happy, that's not what I want."

Bella got up from her chair. Picking up her still full bowl of cereal, she washed it quickly in the sink before turning back to Charlie. "First I'm not doing anything and then you're telling me you don't want me to do something? That's not fair. I'll make plans with Jess for tomorrow."

Grabbing her backpack, which she had sat next to her chair when she came down, she said goodbye before heading out the door. Charlie and I looked at each other for a moment, unsure of how to process what had just happened. From our seats at the table we could hear the loud sound of her starting the truck.

"I better go before she leaves me here," I muttered, getting up as well to bring my empty bowl to the sink to join Bella's.

"Please look out for her today," Charlie asked, his brown eyes filled with worry. "I think we might finally be getting her back

I offered him a half smile as I shouldered my backpack. "Always do."

Walking outside, I placed my backpack by my feet as I hopped into the passenger seat. "So, shopping?" I questioned, buckling my seatbelt as she pulled out of the driveway.

She turned to look at me, the hint of a glare on her face. "It was the first thing I could come up with." She let out a sigh as she turned her attention back to the road.

We didn't say anything else on our way to school. When she pulled into a parking spot, I half expected her to return to zombie mode and get out of the truck to go study whatever class at a picnic table while she waited for school to start. But she surprised me by remaining behind the wheel.

"So, what are you're plans for asking Jess to hang out?" I asked, hoping to start up a conversation. It had been forever since I'd actually had a conversation with her and I kinda missed it.

Bella groaned slightly and leaned forward to rest her head on the steering wheel. "I have no idea. She probably hates me."

"Well, I wouldn't say hate. I would say extremely unhappy with."

There was a small pause before Bella turned her head to look at me. "Do you think you could ask her for me?" Another pause. "Do you think you could come too?"

"Umm, I have plans for tomorrow," I said slowly. "I'm going over to Jacob's."

Because we went to different schools we tried to spend most of the weekend together. Sometimes Leslie would come over and join us when we were at my house and other times Embry and Quil would stop by for an hour or two when we were at his. Neither of us really minded when the others friends were there, as long as we were together.

"Can't you just go Saturday? Please Alex, I haven't talked to Jess in forever. She's more likely to say yes if you ask. Please, I can't face Charlie tonight if I don't have plans."

I looked at her, feeling conflicted. I understood that Bella hadn't exactly been paying attention to me the past couple of months and didn't know that Jacob and I were now dating, but it kind of hurt that she wanted me to give up time with him to help her out. In the end, I agreed to both ask Jess for her and to tag along only for the fact that she hadn't had any real interaction with other people in a long time. She hadn't been the best with people before she went all zombie, I don't think I could live with myself if I forced her to interact with people after not doing so for a couple months.

When lunch came around, I caught Jess in the food line and asked her if she wanted to see a movie with Bella and me. She looked at me like I was crazy for a moment, asking me if I was talking about my sister; as if I had another one. Once I confirmed that, yes, I was talking about my sister Bella; she seemed a bit hesitant before agreeing. Honestly, I think she only agreed because she was interested in trying to understand why Bella had shut the world out for so long. She was as big a gossip as her mom was.

After school I gave Jacob a call like I usually did. He seemed a little disappointed at first when I told him I needed to cancel on him for tomorrow. He perked up a bit when I told him it was because I was going to be helping Bella reintegrate with people.

* * *

The movie we ended up seeing was _Dead End. _It was some zombie movie that Jake and I had seen a few weeks earlier. Jessica seemed a little hesitant, hinting that she would rather see the new romantic comedy that just came out, but Bella insisted. I found it funny that she wanted to see a zombie movie when just last week she was acting like a zombie herself.

Even though I had already seen it and knew what to expect, I jumped a couple of times, but that was it. Jacob had been watching horror movies with me to help me get past my fear of them. I thought it was working, as I hadn't jumped at all the first time I'd seen it but I guess that was just because Jacob was with me. His large presence made me feel safe.

"I don't understand why you would have much rather sat through all those zombies eating people and zero cute boys kissing anybody," Jess complained as we walked out of the theater.

We walked in a horizontal line, Jessica buy the road, Bella in the middle, and me closest to the buildings. I walked close to Bella while I looked down at my phone, smiling slightly as I texted Jacob. I half tuned Jessica's babbling out until I heard her say my name.

"I mean, I was really surprised when Alex came up to me and said that you wanted to hang out."

"Jess," I muttered, giving her a look.

Jessica raised her shoulders at me. "What? I'm just saying. When she first went into her depression I was worried, but after a while it just got to be annoying. She's not the only one with issues."

As much as I hated to agree with her, she kind of had a point. But Bella was my sister so I had to take her side. "Jess. If you're just going to complain about Mike again, can you just not. He's an idiot and he'll wise up to what he's missing sooner or later."

I added the last part to keep Jessica from blowing up at me as she was starting to get an angry look on her face. She was really easy to be around, honestly. Sure she was a little annoying, but if you got her talking about the right thing, she would go off in a tangent and you could be free to let your mind wonder.

I smiled at Bella as Jessica did just that, going off on how Mike was an idiot and _would_ miss her blah, blah, blah. The corners of her lips twitched before her expression went blank. We had just reached the corner of the street and she was looking down to the right. Following her gaze I saw she was looking at a group of bikers. I gave her a questioning look which only grew what she suddenly jumped back, acting like she had just seen a ghost.

"Bella?" I asked, worry slipping into my voice.

Jessica stopped her rant to look at both Bella and me. When Bella didn't move, she stood in front of her and said, "Dude, come on."

"I, uh, think I know those guys." Bella said slowly.

Jessica and I glanced sideways at one another before looking down towards the bikers. They saw us looking and shouted what I sure was supposed to be a compliment but really just made me feel uncomfortable.

"Well they seem great. Can we go?" Jessica asked, taking a step towards the curb.

I took a step as well though my eyes never left my sister. She looked at me before taking a step as well… in the direction of the biker dudes.

"Just give me a second," she muttered before heading down the road.

Jessica and I watched her go, unsure of what else to do. When she was halfway there, she turned around and looked like she was going come back to us. Then, even from the distance, I could see her set her face before marching the rest of the way towards the group of men.

"What is wrong with your sister?" Jessica asked when we saw Bella get on the back of some dude's bike.

"I…I don't know."

We spent the next five minutes standing there, waiting. Jessica passed the time by cursing Bella, saying she was crazy and that she was probably going to die or something like that. I leaned against the building with my hands over my ears. I had tried telling her to stop a couple of times but she didn't listen to me. I was already freaked out enough; I did not need her making it worse.

Suddenly, Jessica stopped midsentence causing me to look up at her. Bella was walking back towards us. I let out a deep breath as the worried knot around my heart unwound itself.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Jessica asked as soon as Bella was close enough.

"Bella, are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?" I asked, checking her over to make sure she was all right.

"Sorry," she muttered as we started walking back towards Jessica's car.

"Sorry?" Jessica said, looking at her like she was crazy. "No. You are insane. Or suicidal. You can't just go off with random men, catching a ride on the back of their motorcycles. I thought Alex was about to pass out!"

Before that moment I don't think I have ever been more thankful for Jess. I wanted nothing more than to yell at Bella right now for what she had just put me through. It had been a nightmare. But with Jessica here, I didn't have too. She could do all the freaking out and if anything Bella could be mad at her instead of me. Not that Bella has ever really been mad at me.

"I'm sorry," Bella said again, turning to me. "But it was such a rush."

I didn't get a chance to say anything because Jessica blew up again.

"What are you, some kind of adrenaline junky now? Go hang gliding or bungee jumping. Don't get on the back of some possible psycho killer's motorcycle! Are you crazy?"

With an annoyed groan, Jessica unlocked her car and got in, Bella and I following. I got in the passenger seat while she got in the back. When we got home, neither of us mentioned the motorcycle incident to Charlie. We both just said that we had a fun time going to the movies together before heading up to our rooms for some well deserved sleep. Well, until Bella had her usual nightly nightmare.

* * *

Authors Note:: So Bella's back, yay? I have mixed feelings about this chapter. Part of me likes it and then another part of me finds it boring. That could just be that I really want to get to the wolves already. But sadly it is still going to be a while before they come into play. Next chapter should be fun. Alex is not going to be happy. Thanks to the five people that reviewed last chapter, **Kodt24**,**White Hunter**,**lostfeather1**, **Io's Torment**, **Lulu85**, and** KYKEMD**. I know, I don't really like that I had to change the posting schedule either. Hopefully it will go back to normal soon. Jake is a sweetheart. I like Charlie and the others so I want Alex to have a good relationship with them all. All the interactions are fun to write. And yes she is a cougar, haha! We'll just have to wait and see which side Alex takes. :) Thanks everyone else for favoriting, following, or just reading this story. You're all awesome!


	9. Death Wish

**Chapter Nine: Death Wish**

I woke up early, well, early for me, the next morning to get ready for my "date" with Jacob. We weren't really going to do anything special, I was just going to hang out at his house until either his dad got sick of me and sent me home or it became too late for me to stay any longer. Seeing as Billy loved me, it was safe to say that I was going to be there a while.

I dressed comfortably in a gray sweater and pair of jeans. My makeup was minimal and my messy brown curls were pulled into a loose ponytail. A few weeks into seeing Jacob I had given up on trying to look my best. I thought it was pointless to deck myself only only to hang out with him in his garage most of the time. He didn't seem to mind either; he still smiled my favorite goofy grin whether he saw me in a dress or in my ratty of sweats.

I was just slipping into my shoes when a horn sounded outside the house. Smiling giddily, I ran from my room, down the stairs, and into the living room where I placed a quick kiss on Charlie's cheek.

"Hanging out with Jacob for the day, see you later tonight!" I called over my shoulders as I exited the living room and started towards the front door.

"Have fun!" Charlie yelled after me.

Going outside, I saw Jacob waiting in a large blue truck. Waving, I skipped down the stairs and over to the truck where I got into the passenger seat. The blue truck was taller than my truck, so it was a bit of a jump, but I was able to pull myself in. I leaned over and gave Jacob a quick kiss in greeting before pulling my seatbelt across my body.

"So you stole your dad's truck?" I asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Borrowed," Jacob corrected, flashing me the goofy grin that made my knees feel weak. "The rabbit still isn't finished, how else was I supposed to pick you up?"

"Well then maybe you should finish it, lazy," I teased, "Quit slacking off."

Jacob gave me a sideways glance. "So you _want_ to spend the day sitting in the garage?"

"No!" I answered quickly. I could only take so much time sitting in the garage, doing nothing but watching Jacob work. It wasn't so bad when Quil and Embry were there but today was about Jacob and me. We would not be in the garage if I could help it.

Jacob laughed at my quick answer before changing the subject.

That was one of the best things about Jacob, how easily the two of us could fall into a conversation. Nothing much had changed over the past few months, he was still my best friend, just with the added bonus of make out sessions. We talked about the supposed "bear" sightings the entire drive from my house to his. He believed that they were just stories people were making up to scary others for their own enjoyment while I tried to reason that the stories might be true. I mean, I used to hang out with vampires, couldn't it be possible for a larger than average bear to be walking around in the woods?

Jacob's truck was able to drive faster than the one Bella and I shared so it didn't take as long to get to La Push. Along the way, it had started to rain so as soon as he parked the truck, we hopped out of our seats and ran to his house. Billy was in the living room watching some TV when we came in. He smiled before waving hello/goodbye as he headed towards his room. Jacob set up his old game system and for a couple hours we played some racing game I didn't know the name of.

I was terrible and lost almost every race. After a while I just started to cheat, trying to knock Jacob's controller out of his hand or covering his eyes, but it was all pointless. With his long arms he could hold his controller away from me and I would try in vain to get it. In the end, I only won one race because just before the end, I surprised Jake with a kiss. He almost dropped his controller while I held down the speed button so my car shot across the finish line.

"That was so not fair," Jacob muttered as I jumped up and down in victory.

"Oh boohoo, so you didn't win one race. You poor thing," I teased.

Jacob mock glared at me for a moment before his face set. I gave him a confused look before realizing what he was going to do a moment to late. His arms shot up and grabbed my waist before I could even think of trying to get away. Pulling me down to the couch, he held me down in place with one hand while the other started tickling my side. I wiggled underneath him, trying to get away while laughing loudly.

"Jake, stop," I begged in-between laughs.

"What's the magic word?"

"Please?"

"Nope."

He continued to tickle my sides, his laughs blending with mine. I could feel tears start to form in the corners of my eyes. I couldn't take much more. Taking as deep of a breath as I could, I promised that I would kiss him if he stopped. He seemed satisfied with the offer and left my side alone. Pulling myself up, I scooted next to him before leaning up and placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"I don't think so," he muttered before gently grabbing my chin with his large hand and turning my head so that I was looking at him. Before I could open my mouth to say something, his soft lips were on mine. It took me a moment to relax into the kiss, my hands staying by my side while his stayed close to my face.

We were quickly broken apart by Billy entering the room, clearing this throat loudly. Jacob and I were both a bit sheepish under his gaze but quickly got over it as he told us it was time for lunch. Getting up from the couch, the three of us entered the small kitchen/ dinning room and got out stuff to eat. We just made sandwiches and sat around the table together while eating them. When we were finished, Billy reclaimed the living room to watch one of his shows while Jacob and I headed over to his room.

It was small but comfortable. Jacob sat on his bed with his back against the wall while I leaned against him and stretched out my legs. We didn't do much, just talked about school for a while. Jacob was just telling me about something Embry did when we heard a familiar sound.

"Does that sound like the truck too you?" I asked, turning to Jacob with a confused look on my face.

"Yeah, it does."

Getting up, we exited his room and walked over to one of the windows in the living room where we peaked out the curtains. It was the truck. Bella sat behind the wheel, putting the vehicle into park before getting out, the heavy door opening with a loud creak.

"What is she doing here?" I muttered, more than a little annoyed.

"I don't know. Guess there's only one way to find out," Jacob muttered back before turning away from the window. Quickly, we shoved our feet into our shoes before walking out the front door.

"Bella?" I called out, "What are you doing here? I thought you had to work."

"I'm done," she answered quickly before turning to Jacob, a smile forming on her face. "I brought you something."

Heading towards the back of the truck, she pulled back a dark green tarp to uncover two very beat up looking motorcycles. My mouth dropped at the sight of them. Was she crazy! Did Charlie's countless lectures about how deadly motorcycles were _not_ sink into her head? Had her total laps in judgment last night turned into some sort of death wish?

"What the hell are those?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Motorcycles. I saved them from the dump and thought Jacob could fix them up and teach us how to ride," Bella explained. She still wasn't one hundred percent, but she was slowly starting to return to her old awkward self.

Jacob took a step towards the two motorcycles and looked them over quick before shaking his head. "These are more scrap metal than motorcycles."

"I understand that they're probably going to cost more to fix than they're worth but I thought it might be a fun project for my mechanic-type friend."

"And that would be me," Jacob mused, leaning against the truck, his arms folded along the side.

I shot him a 'what-the-hell' look, which he just shrugged at. I couldn't believe he was actually talking to Bella about these death machines!

"The parts are going to be pricey."

Bella shrugged the comment off. "I have a college fund I can dig into."

I couldn't stay quiet anymore. "Bella what about Charlie?"

"Charlie won't know."

"He will if I tell him."

Bella's eyes widened. "Alex, please don't do that. I know it's stupid and reckless but you don't know what it was like…riding that motorcycle last night."

"But Bella, they're not safe," I tried to reason. "It's not like a regular bike. You could get seriously hurt if you wipe out on one of those things."

I turned to Jacob for help, looking at him pleadingly. He looked from me to Bella a few times before his eyes fell on Bella.

"I can't promise that I will be able to fix them at all," he said slowly, taking my side and trying to put her off.

Bella shook her head. "Come on. If anyone could fix these bikes, it's you."

Jacob stood quietly for a moment. I could see he was thinking it over and I deeply hoped that he would tell Bella no. With a heavy sigh, he gave me an apologetic look before turning to Bella.

"When do we start?"

"Now?" Bella asked, an excited look stretching across her face.

"It's starting to get a little late, don't you think?" I said, stepping forward. Clearly neither of them was thinking straight and needed some time to realize what they were going to do was dangerous. "Bella, dinner still has to be made."

Even when she was a zombie Bella did all the cooking. In the beginning, I had tried to do it for her only to have Bella come downstairs and look confused. I figured she liked the routine of it and quickly stopped trying to cook.

"Right," Bella muttered. "Tomorrow then?" She asked hopefully.

Jacob just nodded his head before moving around the back of the truck so he could lower the tailgate. Once that was down, he grabbed one of the bikes and lifted it from the back of the truck. Bella watched in surprise, commenting on how strong and buff Jacob was. I rolled my eyes and followed as they walked the first bike to the garage for safekeeping. If we drove home with those in the back of the truck, Charlie would freak out.

After retrieving the second bike from the back of the truck, Jacob grabbed the tarp Bella had put over them and folded it up as best he could before saying goodbye. When Bella turned to head back to the truck, I got on my tiptoes and gave Jake a quick kiss before following after her.

* * *

Authors Note:: Pretty short chapter, sorry about that. But oh my god, you guys! Last chapter got eleven reviews and I am absolutely speechless, thank you so much! I was having a crappy day at work so it literally made my day each time I got an email saying someone had reviewed my story. :) And does it make me a bad person for enjoying all your comments about how much you don't like Bella? I don't really care, I find them fun to read because you're all right. How bad do you have to be that you can't even realize your sister has boyfriend? Like, seriously? Anyway, I have Alex's reaction to the wolves all planed out and I can't wait for you all to read it, it is going to be awesome. Jacob's going to be a bit of a dick, but he'll have his reasons. Thank you everyone else that has read, favorited, or followed this story! :)


	10. Tag Along

**Chapter Ten: Tag Along **

I moved around my room trying to be as quiet as possible. It was almost ten o'clock and there had been no movement from Bella so I thought now would be the perfect time to sneak off to Jacob's. She didn't have work so I was free to take the truck and if I left quick enough she would be left here without any way of following. With my shoes in hand so they didn't squeak, I carefully closed my bedroom door and padded across the hall and down the stairs. Once I reached the kitchen, I put my shoes on and grabbed the truck keys from the counter before opening the front door.

"I'm heading out, be back later!" I called out quickly to Charlie before turning around and walking quickly to the truck.

I was just opening the door when Bella came running out of the house yelling my name.

_Damn, _I thought to myself before turning to my sister.

"Are you going to go see Jacob?"

"Uh, yeah," I answered, looking down at my feet.

"Do you mind if I tag along?" She asked hopefully.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up. "Bella, you know Jacob and I are dating, right?"

I didn't want to tell her like this, but it was the only thing I could think of to say instead of flat out saying I didn't want her to come. The look she gave me was one of confusion. I could practically see her mind working, trying to figure out if my words were true.

"Since when?"

"We've been together for about a month now…" I trailed off, thinking about how she had been pretty much lost to the world by December. Out of the whole time, that month had probably been the worst. I more or less lived in Bella's room by the end of it. The nightmares had gotten worse and seemed to come more frequently.

Now it was Bella's turn to look down at the ground. "Oh."

"Yeah," I said slowly, feeling an awkward silence fall between us.

A few minutes passed before Bella finally looked up at me. "I guess I'll just let you go then."

I watched as her whole attitude changed. Her face fell and her shoulders slumped as she turned and slowly made her way back up to the house. In that moment, I felt so bad for her that my mouth started working without even giving my brain a moment to think about what it wanted to say.

"Bella, wait." She turned around to face me, her eyes dull. "Come with me."

"No, I don't want to get in the way of your time with Jacob," she said, shaking her head.

"I'll still be spending time with him. Now, come on. I want you to come with me."

Although I wanted to spend time alone with Jacob, I wasn't going to let Bella sink back into her depression. She was my sister and if spending time with Jacob and me helped her get back to normal, well then I would just suck it up and let her tag along.

Bella looked at me for a moment, as though waiting for me to take it back before nodding her head and walking towards the truck. We both got in and she thanked me for letting her come. I told her it was no big deal before starting the truck and heading off towards my boyfriend's house. We didn't speak much during the drive, Bella just looked out the window while I focused on the road. When we got there, I didn't hesitate after shutting the truck off to head over to the garage, knowing from experience that Jacob would more than likely be there.

"Well someone's been busy," I muttered as Bella and I entered, kicking the corner of a blanket covered in parts.

Jacob looked up from one of the motorcycles, a large grin stretching across his face. "Lexi!" He then turned to look at Bella. "Hey, Bella."

"I thought we were going to work on them together," Bella said, standing awkwardly in the doorway with her hands in her back pocket. I bumped her with my elbow and nodded my head towards the inside of the garage before going to Jacob, giving him a quick kiss before sitting down on a stool next to him.

"It was a new project, I couldn't help but start tinkering last night after you guys left," Jacob admitted, turning back to what he was working on.

Bella came to sit next to me on the ground as Jacob started telling us everything he had done. Apparently the bikes weren't as bad as they looked. He even said one would be worth fixing because it was some old model. With some new parts he reasoned that he should be able to have them running in no time.

The first hour passed by fine enough, the three of us being able to contribute to the conversations started. But soon Jacob and I started talking about things that Bella had missed out on, like Jacob's friends and school, so she had to be filled in. So while Jacob did that, I moved to the Rabbit and started texting the subjects of their conversation. Since neither of them were doing anything, I invited them over. If Bella could crash on mine and Jacob's time than so could Embry and Quil…at least then I would have someone to talk to.

It didn't take too long for them to show up.

"Yo, Jake!" Quil yelled from outside, announcing himself and Embry.

Bella jumped up from her seat and moves towards the tarp to cover the bike only to have Jacob stop her. "It's cool, it's just my boys."

"Hey, boys," I greeted, getting out of the Rabbit and moving to stand by Bella as Embry and Quil walked into the garage.

"Sup, Swan," Embry said, nodding his head in greeting before turning to look at my sister sitting next to Jacob. "Other Swan."

Bella gave an awkward wave, unsure of what else to do. Embry winked at her, causing her to blush and me to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. Jacob introduced the two boys so that she knew which was which as well as introduced her to Embry and Quil.

"So, Jake. What's up with you stealing all the girls, huh?" Quil asked, his hands in his pockets.

Embry, Jacob, and I all groaned, knowing where he was going with that. His gaze darted around, resting on each of us for a moment before moving on. "What? I'm just saying. He already has Alex, he doesn't need another girl hanging around."

Jacob glared at him while I just rolled my eyes. Bella looked around confused.

"Do you not have your own girlfriend or something?" She asked suddenly, causing all of us but Quil to laugh.

"He wishes," Embry muttered before dodging an elbow thrown by Quil.

"Quil took his cousin to prom," Jacob told Bella.

Quil glared at Jacob. "Yeah, that's still a riot. You want funny, Black? I'll give you funny."

Jacob stood up and sat down the tool he had been using as Quil made a run at him. The two latched onto one another and playful started to wrestle, heading outside. Embry sauntered over to my sister and I, a half smile on his face.

"I got five bucks on Quil."

"You're on," Bella accepted, getting up to go watch the two boys outside.

Embry and I stayed put for a moment until he bumped me with his hip. "Having fun with your sister around?" He asked teasingly, his smile breaking out into a full on grin.

I hit him playfully with my shoulder. "Shut up."

He laughed as he and I walked out of the garage to watch my boyfriend play-fight with his friend.

* * *

The next week went along pretty much the same way it did that weekend. After school, when she didn't have to work, Bella would drive the two of us up to the reservation where we would meet up with Jacob and either watch him work on the bikes or go off searching for parts. Lucky for me it wasn't too often that I resented Bella for being present. Most of the time we were all able to interact with someone, mainly me, being left out. I guess the main reason was because even though she always hung out with us now, she didn't butt into the nightly calls Jacob and I had.

It was Thursday night and I had just finished my homework so I sat in my bed, all comfy with my phone to my ear. Jacob, on the other hand, was still working on his. Although Bella had decided we should set aside a day to work on homework, he was still a bit behind. I didn't know what it was exactly he was working on, but it had something to do with chemistry.

"Are you sure you don't want me to get Leslie to help you? She really good at chemistry, I wouldn't have passed if it weren't for her." I insisted. It had been one of the few classes we shared last year and I only passed because she did most of the labs and let me borrow her notes to study for tests.

"I think I might rather fail. She would never let me live it down if I asked her for help," Jacob said from the other end. Although him and Leslie weren't as bad as they had used to be, they still weren't best friends or really close.

"Well then maybe Bella could go over it again with you tomorrow when she gets done with work."

I heard him sigh followed by the faint sound of a book being closed. "Yeah, I'll just do that. My brain is fried."

There was a small silence between the two us though I didn't mind. Every once and a while I would hear a faint shuffle and knew that he was getting changed and ready for bed. Soon, I heard the creaky springs of his bed groan before his voice returned.

"So have you heard from Embry lately?"

I tried to think back. "No…but then again I really haven't been trying too. The last time I saw him was Sunday at your house. Why?"

"It's nothing, just…" He trailed off.

"What? Do you think he might be hurt?" I asked, suddenly worried. "Is he missing?"

"No, it's just that he wasn't at school the last few days and now he won't answer mine or Quil's calls or texts." I could hear the faint worry in his voice, picking up right away what he was thinking.

"You're worried it might be Sam."

The pause answered my question. "I can't help but think that it might be. It's the same thing that's been happening with the others."

I knew exactly whom he was talking about though I had forgotten their names. It had been a while since Jacob had talked about Sam bothering him so I had just assumed that he had given up on whatever he had wanted with Jacob. But now that he might be behind one of Jacob's best friends not answering him I could only imagine how freaked out my boyfriend must be.

"Well maybe I should talk to Charlie-" I didn't get to finish my sentence as a loud scream cut through the house. It had been a while since it last happened, but not long enough that I didn't know what it was right away.

"Bella," I muttered, kicking my legs out from under my covers. "I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."

I didn't even wait for him to answer before I ended the call, throwing my phone on my bed as I raced out of my room and into Bella's. My slight hesitation had allowed Charlie to beat me. He had already woken her up when I came in.

"Are you okay?" I asked, walking over to her bed. She nodded her head, but I could see in her face that she was shaken.

"And here I thought this thing was starting to work," Charlie muttered, nodding towards the small dream catcher Jacob had given her for her birthday. "I guess not."

"It wasn't as bad as it used to be," Bella said quietly, her voice slightly hoarse from screaming.

"Hanging out with your sister and Jacob seems to be helping, right?" Charlie asked, turning to look at me for a moment.

Once again Bella nodded her head. A sudden comfort fell over me at that. I was glade that I hadn't been selfish and put up with Bella hanging out with Jacob and I. If it did make her feel better, than it was worth it.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" I asked.

She sat there for a moment, thinking it over before nodding her head. "Please."

Walking around the bed, I got under the covers and cuddle up close to her. Charlie patted Bella on the shoulder before getting up.

"Goodnight girls," he said quietly before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Authors Note:: Don't like the beginning but Bella had to be told that Jacob and Alex were seeing each other. That being said, HOLY CRAP! Fifteen reviews and a message (they messaged the chapter before also but I forgot to mention it, sorry)! That is just unbelievable! I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you guys how awesome that makes me feel! Bella will not be having any romantic feelings towards Jacob, hangout with both him and Alex makes her feel better so she's tagging along with them. She'll make it up to Alex though and hopefully I'll be able to get you guys to maybe kinda like her as well as hate her, fingers crossed. I did some more planning and now have up to chapter eighteen figured out. All I'm going to say is you are all going to hate chapter thirteen, love chapter sixteen, and the wolves will join us in chapter seventeen. Let your minds try and figure out what is going to happen ;) Thank you everyone else who has favorited, followed, or just read the story!


	11. Test Drive

**Chapter Eleven: Test Drive **

It was a Friday night when Jacob called. The three off us had just finished supper; Bella and I were clearing the table while Charlie wondered off to the living room to watch TV when the house phone started ringing. Since dad was busy cheering on one of the teams it was up to Bella or I to answer it. Seeing as I was busy putting the leftover spaghetti into a container it was Bella who picked up the ugly light green device.

"Hello?" There was a short pause before, "Jacob!"

At the name of my boyfriend, I looked up and took in my sister's excited expression. For a moment, I mentally beat myself up for not answering the phone before shoving the feeling away. It had been two weeks now and Bella was still a constant presence. I had thought that once she started getting back to normal she would distance herself a bit but no such luck.

"Yeah, I'll tell Alex and we'll see you tomorrow," Bella said excitedly before hanging up the phone.

Giving my head a quick shake to clear away my annoyed thoughts, I placed the top on the container. "So what did Jacob want?" I asked, taking the leftovers to the fridge.

Bella looked over her shoulder for a moment before walking over to the sink where she started doing the dishes. "He was just calling to let us know that _they're_ done." Although Charlie's focus was pretty much glued to the TV in the other room, Bella still lowered her voice.

My back stiffened for a moment. Although she hadn't said the word 'motorcycles' I knew that was what she meant. I had thought, well, more prayed, that they would have taken longer to rebuild. That way Bella would have time to come to her senses and realize just how stupid this idea was. But now it seemed that wasn't a possibility.

Taking a breath, I joined her at the sink and started drying the clean plates. "I thought Jacob said they were going to take a few more days." I tried my best to keep my voice even.

"That's what I thought too but he said he got bored today and was tinkering around and fixed the problem," Bella answered, giving a small, excited bounce. "I said we would pick him up tomorrow to test them out."

I just nodded my head. I knew that if I started talking about it I would get frustrated and risk tipping Charlie off to what my sister was going to be doing. As much as I was against the idea, I wasn't going to snitch. If anything I would probably get in trouble too because I hadn't stopped the two of them or let him know what was going on right away.

Once the dishes were all washed, dried, and put away Bella and I headed up to our rooms. My phone was sitting on my bedside table and after unlocking it I saw that I had a missed call from Jacob. Seemed like he had called the house because he hadn't reached us on our cells. Without really thinking, I pressed the call button to my ear and brought the device to my ear. It rang for a few seconds before Jacob picked up.

"Someone is a little eager, huh Lexi. It's a little early for our nightly chat."

I rolled my eyes. "This isn't about that. I'm calling to ask what the heck you were thinking?"

"Thinking about what?" he asked. His voice was heavy with confusion and I could almost picture his face in my mind.

"The stupid motorcycles. Why didn't you take longer to fix them?"

"Oh," was all he said.

I stood there, waiting for him to say something more. "Well?" I asked after awhile.

"What do you want me to say, Lexi? I got bored and finished them. I wasn't thinking."

"That's obvious," I muttered under my breath.

"Hey. I really am sorry."

A sigh escaped my mouth. "I know it's not your fault. It's just; I thought she would give up this whole 'wanting to ride a death machine' kick. I guess I'm just a little freaked out now that they're done. I mean, this is Bella we're talking about."

"I know you're worried, but everything is going to be fine. We'll start off slow and be extra careful tomorrow. I promise."

* * *

I was really starting to hate driving in the truck with three people, as I always had to be the person to sit in the middle. It did have its upsides; the cab of the truck wasn't that large so I got to sit close to Jacob. The downside, I also had to sit pretty close to my sister. Currently, the three of us were on our way to a secluded place where he and Bella could test out the deathcycles. Jacob had his arm slung around my shoulders and I leaned into his side in an effort to create some room between Bella and myself.

"All I'm saying is now that they are all fixed up we could just sell the bikes. Make some money." I suggested for what must have been the millionth time.

"I didn't get the motorcycles to sell, I got them to ride," Bella said.

Jacob gave my shoulder a quick squeeze. "Lexi, calm down. You're worrying too much."

"I can't help it. My boyfriend and sister are going to kill themselves because they insist on riding a two-wheeled death machine," I contended.

"See this is why you're, like, sixty," Bella stated with a shake of her head.

I turned to glare at her. About a week and a half ago her and Jacob got into this kick on trying to decide who was older. Although I kept telling them to leave me out of it, they insisted on adding and subtracting years to my total. They mostly added years, usually when I made a comment about the motorcycles. They were both thirty-something.

"Since you two insist on making me partake in your stupid game, I would just like to point out that with age comes wisdom so if I'm sixty or whatever I take that as a compliment." Crossing my arms over my chest, I turned my attention out the windshield.

Jacob laughed at the comment. "Aw, is Lexi all grumpy now?" he asked. I ignored him. Of course he took that as a change and started poking and tickling my sides gently. I bit my lips in an effort to keep from smile but soon gave in. A smile formed on my face and a quiet laugh bubbled in my throat.

Bella continued to drive, feeling a bit awkward as she kept her eyes on the road. In her effort to look anywhere but at Jacob and me goofing around mere inches away from her, she caught sight of four forms standing on the edge of a cliff.

"Hey guys, isn't that Sam Uley?"

Jacob and I quickly stopped messing around a followed her gave. My features once again turned into an irritated one while Jacob's went blank.

"And his cult." He muttered.

Without warning, two of the boys grabbed one who started struggling before being thrown off the cliff. As he fell, Bella gasped and jerked the truck over to the side of the road. Putting it into park, she quickly jumped out and crossed the road so she was closer.

"Did you see that?" she asked, a worried expression on her face.

"What, you almost get hit by a car?" I asked, getting out of the truck after Jacob. "Dad did teach you to look both ways before crossing the street, right?"

I had almost had a heart attack when she jumped out of the truck just as another came from the other direction. I swear she would have been smacked if she hadn't stopped to close the door. Why we even let her out of the house I have no idea.

"They're not really fighting, Bella. They're cliff diving," Jacob said laughing, both at Bella's expression and my worry for my accident-prone sister. He and I leaned against the front of the truck while she turned back to watch as one of the other boys launched himself off the cliff as well.

"Didn't we jump from lower down?" I asked.

"You've jumped off a cliff?" Bella asked, turning back to look at us with a look of surprise on her face.

"Yeah, over the summer. Probably the scariest thing I'd ever done. Like a rollercoaster but ten times more fun."

Bella took one last look over at the two remaining boys before joining us back by the truck. "Do you think you could take me sometime?"

Jacob raised an eyebrow at her. "First motorcycles, now cliff diving?" Bella nodded her head. "Okay. We'll have to wait for it to warm up though. And we won't jump from that high up. We'll leave that to Sam and his disciples."

"You don't like them, do you?"

I scoffed loudly while Jacob shook his head. "They think they run this place. Embry used to call them hall monitors on steroids; now look at him."

Another boy jumped from the cliff, yelling happily as the open air claimed him and he headed towards the water. I looked away. A week ago Jacob had called me, fearing the worst. Now it looked like those fears had come true. Embry had turned to the dark side.

Jacob filled Bella in on what had happened with Embry, how he had missed school and stopped talking to us, his friends. He then explained how Embry came back all changed and started following Sam around like a little dog before ending with Sam's creeper looks.

"Maybe you should just avoid them," Bella suggested.

I scoffed again. "The time for just avoiding them has long passed." I turned to Jacob. "I told you, say the word and I'll mention it to Charlie. He'll talk to them."

Jacob nodded his head, looking out at Sam, now alone, standing at the top of the cliff. With a running start, he flung himself into the air and dove almost professionally into the waiting water after a few seconds of falling. I glared at the place he were he went under and promised myself that the next time I saw him I would teach him a lesson. I didn't care if he was some steroid using drug dealer, he needed to leave my boyfriend alone.

We all stood there for a moment before getting back into the truck and heading off towards our destination. Nothing was said for the remainder of the trip, all of us too preoccupied by our own thoughts. When it came time, Jacob broke the silence to tell Bella where to turn off. It was a long stretch of dirt road that cut through the trees. If I had to guess I would have said it was an old trail that had long been forgotten.

Jacob removed the bikes from the back of the truck and went over how to operate them with Bella while I sat on the tailgate. For a while, I gave them both disapproving looks but quickly gave up when I saw it was no use. Bella's mind was made up and I knew that there was going to be no way of stopping her now.

"I can't watch this," I muttered as she started the deathcycle. Bringing my hands to my face, I used them to cover my eyes.

The rumbling continued for a moment before it slowly started to grow quiet. Peaking through my fingers, I saw that Bella was driving away on her motorcycle. For a moment she looked fine, but then she started whipping her head back to look behind her and slowly lost control of the bike. Jacob yelled for her to hit the break a moment before she skidded and flew off of her bike.

"Bella!" I screamed, jumping down from the back of the truck before taking off down the road moving faster than I think I ever have. I was halfway to her when I heard Jacob kick his motorcycle to life. He passed me quickly and slid the bike to a stop before rushing over to help my sister. I reached them just as Bella was apologizing.

"Oh my god," I gasped, bending down to look at my sister and the blood coming from her head. "I told you guys this was a bad idea!"

"Lexi, calm down, it's just a little blood," Jacob said quickly before standing up. Pulling his shirt over his head, he bent back down and used it to stop the bleeding. "It's going to be okay."

"It is not okay, what are we going to tell Charlie?" I shouted, in my mind picturing Charlie having a heart attack when he found out if eldest daughter had been in a motorcycle accident. If the shock didn't kill him he was going to freak out and probably end up killing us.

Bella continued to sit there with a dazed expression on her face while I freaked out. By now she probably should have been telling me not to tell Charlie so I figured she probably had a concussion or something. Jacob continued to put pressure on her wound, looking at her just as worried as I was.

"Bella, are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Jacob, did you know you're kinda beautiful?"

I sat there, taken aback by her comment. Why the heck was my sister pointing out my boyfriend's beauty in front of me? Jacob didn't seem to mind though as he brushed it off as a joke.

"How hard did you hit your head?"

Bella reached up to touch her head gently, wincing when her fingers made contact with the sensitive skin. Standing, I had Jacob help me lift Bella before taking his shirt from him and having Bella continue to hold it to her head.

"I'll get her back to the truck. Grab the bikes," I said before slowly leading my sister away. As we walked I asked her questions to make sure that she didn't have a concussion. From what I could tell, she was going to be fine—she was just going to have a hell of a headache for a while. Jacob drove the truck back to his house where we stashed the bikes and figured out a story to tell Charlie. Bella was feeling better and agreed to say that she tripped while we were hiking. Because it was her, it was a pretty believable lie.

* * *

Authors Note:: I just want to start off by saying that I am so sorry for taking a long time to post this chapter. Life man. But some good news, I'm going to try and move us back to the old posting schedule so updates should come every other day again. Thanks for the twelve reviews and message guys! Bella isn't going to crush on Jacob, she doesn't see him that way. Alex doesn't realize that though... Ya'll are more than welcome to punch Jacob in the face when the time comes, he'll deserve it. I'm actually in the middle of editing _Dark Skies _right now because I know there are a lot of mistakes. That's what I get for working all the time and not proof reading these chapters before I post them because I want to get them out. Thanks everyone else for following, favoriting, or just reading this story. It means a lot to me! :)


	12. Things Get Heated

**Chapter Twelve: Things Get Heated**

"I'm telling you guys, I saw something?" Angela insisted Monday at lunch when we were all sharing what we had done over the weekend. Apparently, she had gone hiking with her sister and they had seen some sort of large animal.

Eric held his girlfriend's hand while nodding his head. "Yeah, I believe you, babe."

"No he doesn't. He's just trying to get lucky," Jessica said.

"Eww, Jess. I'm eating," I whined, throwing a chip at her. She just smirked at me before stabbing some of her food with a fork and placing it in her mouth.

Eric turned quickly to look at Jessica before returning his gaze to his girlfriend. "Is that an option?" he asked hopefully.

Jessica and I both made gagging noises before throwing food at him, me another one of my chips and Jess a carrot. Eric managed to block both objects, laughing stupidly before sticking his tongue out at us. Angela ignored him as she continued to fill us in on the creature they had seen.

"It was jet black and huge; on all fours it was still taller than a person. It seemed way to big to be a bear but I don't know what else it could have been."

"Maybe it was Bigfoot," Jess teased, pointing her fork at Angela.

"Or an alien," Mike added, "You should be lucky you didn't get probed."

Eric did his stupid laugh again while I just rolled my eyes. An alien? Really? Not too far away, I could see my sister approaching slowly. Even though she had been joining us at our table for about a week now, she was still uneasy about it. I knew Jess had noticed as well because her expression changed from laid-back to one of displeasure.

I didn't look at my sister as she took her usual seat between Mike and me. I was still a bit upset with her about what had happened Saturday; what with her calling my boyfriend beautiful and all. No matter how hard I tried to think about something else, it was always in the back of my mind. I knew that she had just hit her head so it probably meant nothing, but I couldn't let it go. Maybe I was just jealous or something, I didn't know.

"You're not the only one that has seen this thing," Bella said suddenly. "My dad's been getting reports at the station. A couple hikers went missing and a few more were killed. No one can find the bear, though. People are scared."

Mike, Eric, and Jessica sat there for a moment, all three stunned. That was probably the most they had heard Bella say in one go since before she went all zombie. Angela was the only one who didn't seem affected; she just sat there smugly.

Eric seemed to be the first to come out of his haze, laughing awkwardly before putting an arm around Angela. "Yeah. That'll teach you clowns to doubt my girlfriend."

I shot him a 'seriously' look. "Eric, _you_ doubted your girlfriend."

That got Eric to blush causing Jess and I to start laughing. The four of us continued to discuss the possibility of a giant bear while Mike stole my sister's attention. Being the creeper I was, I decided to listen in on their conversation because it seemed more interesting. Apparently Mike had asked Bella to the movies last night at work and he was wondering if she had come up with an answer. She had decided on yes, but insisted on making it a group thing.

"Do you guys want to go see _Face Punch _with us this weekend?" she asked, turning to the others at the table.

Angela and Eric where in, the latter making explosion noises and punching his fist into his other hand while Jessica made a sarcastic comment. I started to shake my head, seeing it as a chance for me to finally be alone with Jacob. If Bella was at the movies, she couldn't text us every ten minutes like she did when she was at work. I never got a chance to complete the action, however, as Bella kicked my leg under the table, giving me a pleading look.

Sighing, I when against my better judgment and agreed. "Count Jacob and I in."

* * *

I called Jacob later that night to let him know about the plans to see a movie on Friday. Unfortunately, he was more than up for it, which kinda bummed me out. I had been hoping he would have said no so that I would have had an excuse not to go. I should have remembered that my boyfriend was pretty much up for anything. When Friday came around, Jess was out of school with the flu, but the rest of us talked pretty excitedly about the movies tonight. When school was over I quickly changed from my plain t-shirt into a colorful lace shirt to try and help boost my mood. After grabbing the leather jacket I hadn't worn in months, I went downstairs to wait for Bella.

I sat there staring at the clock for a while when an unfamiliar horn sounded. Confused, I got up from the table and went to go see who it was. We told Mike and the others that we would meet them at the movies because we had to go get Jacob so I knew that it wasn't him. Heading outside I was surprised to see my boyfriend getting out of his now running Rabbit.

"Oh my god, you finished it!" I cried happily, closing the distance between us and launching myself into his arms.

He laughed and picked me up, deepening the hug, before placing a quick kiss on my lips. "Yup, just finished it last night. I thought it would be a nice way to show off to your friends."

I smiled widely as he sat me back down on my feet. Sure the lunch gang has heard about Jacob, but none of them have really met him. It would be fun having something to brag about, even though Jacob was brag worthy all by himself. He was by far the best boyfriend that I have ever had, even though I haven't had that many to begin with.

We stood in front of his car for a moment, chatting easily about our days when Bella came outside and crushed our little moment. She too praised him for finishing his car, but I didn't really care. Instead, I made my way around the car and seated myself in the passenger seat. A few seconds later, they followed after and we started the semi-awkward drive to the movies.

When we got to Port Angeles, Jacob parked his car in the same place that I usually did whenever we came to the movies. Lacing my fingers with his, we walked the short distance to the theater. Just as Jacob was holding the door for us, Bella's phone started ringing.

"It's Angela, I'll be right back," Bella promised before walking away to answer the call. Jacob and I watched her go before I spotted Mike waiting by the ticket counter.

"There's Mike," I said before walking over to him. "Hey, Mike."

I watched as he smiled as we got closer. "Sup, Phoenix."

"Mike, this is my boyfriend Jacob. Jacob, this is our friend Mike," I introduced.

There was a slightly awkward pause as both Jacob and Mike sized each other up. After what felt like minutes, the two finally shook each other's hands. They still seemed a little leery of each other, but they made small talk while we waited in line for tickets. We had just purchased them when Bella came over to us, a disappointed expression on her face.

"Angela's sick. Apparently she caught that flu bug that's going around," she told us. "Eric's taking care of her so he's not coming either. It's just the four of us."

"Yay," I muttered sarcastically under my breath so no one could hear.

Bella started acting really awkward after that. I suppose it was because Jacob and I had each other and she was now stuck with Mike. Although she tried to get me to sit there, she ended up in the seat between Mike and Jacob. Mike didn't seem to mind.

Throughout the first half of the movie, we all just sat there. After a while I leaned into Jacob and rested my head against him while he put his arm around my shoulders. Although scary and action movies didn't bother me as much as they used too, they still weren't my favorite so every once and a while I would bury my face in his shirt to block out the excessive blood that seemed to always be present.

It was during the second half, when things really started to get out of hand in the movie, that Jacob started laughing at the stupidity of _Face Punch. _Pretty soon, Bella joined in and together they started making comments about how ridicules it was. I was starting to find it annoying when Mike suddenly drew my attention.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Pushing up from his seat, he quickly started to make his way across the aisle and down the stairs towards the door. I watched him go, a worried expression on my face. Standing up, I called after him, but he just continued out the door without even a moment's pause.

"Lexi, just let him go," Jacob said, catching my arm.

The people around us started to get mad. Some told us to be quiet while the ones behind us told me to sit down. I shot them and Jacob a look before pulling my arm free and leaving the movie. Once out in the empty hall, I walked over to the nearest bathroom.

"Mike, are you okay?" I called in, resting my head against the wall next to the door.

Behind me, one of the theater doors opened and faint chuckling met my ears. Turning around, I saw that it was Jacob and Bella.

"I've never seen someone get sick because of an action movie before," Jacob was saying. Catching sight of me, they walked over. "How's the marshmallow"

I glared at him. "Leave Mike alone."

"What? I was just asking how he was," Jacob said, fainting innocence.

"No, you were making fun of him. Action movies aren't for everyone. Just because they don't bother you doesn't mean you're better than the people they do bother," I snapped. I had no idea where all this anger was coming from but now that it was spilling out it was hard to restrain.

"Whoa, Lexi, I didn't mean anything-" Jacob started, but I just cut him off.

"You know what, why don't you just go and finish the movie with my sister. You seem to be having more fun with her lately anyway." As soon as the words were out of my mouth I wanted to pull them back. Bella stood wide-eyed while Jacob looked like I had slapped him. Although I hadn't flat out said that I felt like he was starting to have feelings for my sister, it was implied and they both picked up on it.

Jacob recovered first and took a step towards me. "Lexi, you can't really think that-"

Once again I cut him off, not wanting to listen to him right now. "Just save it, okay."

I turned to walk away only to almost run into Mike. Looking up at his face I saw right away that he wasn't feeling well. His skin was white and he was sweating. A look of surprise came over him for a moment before he realized it was me.

"Oh, it's you," he muttered almost relieved. "I need to go home."

"Yeah, you don't look so good," I said before reaching up to touch his forehead. "You're burning up. I'll take you home."

I didn't feel like riding with Bella and Jacob right now and Mike did not look good at all. I don't think I trusted him driving home himself.

"Lexi, wait. Bella can take him home," Jacob insisted, causing both Mike and I to look at him. I shook my head before turning back to Mike and asking if he was ready. He nodded his head before turning back to Jacob who was glaring at him.

"She's just trying to help out, man. What's your problem?" he asked as he fished around in his pockets for his keys.

Jacob continued to glare. "Right now, you're my problem, _man_. If you're feeling sick, maybe you should go to the hospital. Do you want me to put you in the hospital?"

Moving quickly, he took a step towards Mike while lifting his arm like he was going to punch him. Grabbing Mike's arm, I pulled him back. Bella seemed to finally wake up and moved to grab Jacob's lifted arm.

"Hey, Jake. Stop it, okay," she said quietly, trying to calm him down. Quickly, she looked down at her hands, which still grasped his large arm. "Whoa, Jake you're burning up."

Although I was mad at him, I couldn't fight the worry that rushed through me. "Jake, are you okay?"

His eyes seemed to blur for a second before his shook his head. With a dazed expression, he nodded his head before shaking it. "Yeah—No, I feel weird. I gotta go."

Moving quickly, he started walking away from us and towards the front doors of the movie theater. Never once did he look back. Bella and I looked after him with worried looks on our faces while Mike looked like he was going to throw up.

"That kid is weird," he muttered, earning a light slap in the chest from me. "Ow."

"Don't start, Mike," I warned before wrapping and arm around his waist to help support him as he looked weak in the knees.

I started to lead him out of the theater while Bella stopped to get him an empty popcorn bucket just incase he has to throw up on the way home. It wasn't until I had got him all buckled up and started the car when I realized that Jacob and I had just had our first fight.

* * *

Authors Note:: We're getting closer to the wolves guys! Are you excited? I'm excited! Anyway, I feel like Alex turned into a bit of a bitch at the end of this chapter. But I guess that's what happens when you suppress your feelings for so long and then let them all go. She'll be expression more emotions next chapter too. Thanks for the twelve reviews, we've broken a hundred total. Yay! Bella's probably going to end up worrying about both the wolves and the vampires because she just has to put herself in the middle of everything. Alex will be more focused on one side and you'll all know which one by the end of this story. Actually, I'm sure you'll be able to tell which side she choses before the end of the story. Alex finding out about Jacob being a wolf is going to be a lot of fun, I have a lot planned for that. Get ready for a lot of anger and comments. Thanks everyone else for following, favoriting, and reading this story! :)


	13. Ignored

**Chapter Thirteen: Ignored **

The first thing I felt the next morning was sick to my stomach. Sleep hadn't come easy as my mind was busy playing the events of last night on a loop. I hated myself for how I acted but was still too upset to try and make it right. Oh, I was also feeling sick because I was sick.

Waking up around six, I threw back my covers and sprinted to the bathroom where I almost tripped over my sister. She looked really bad, but it was an emergency so I just pushed her out of the way before bending over the toilet and emptying my stomach. After heaving for a few seconds, I spit into the white bowl before sitting down on the ground.

"You too, huh?" Bella asked weakly from the other side of the toilet.

I nodded my head. "Stupid Mike."

I knew that it was his fault I had gotten sick. I should have known better than to get so close to him. Then again, I had been around Jess and Angela as well while they were sick and could have easily caught the bug from them as well. But because I had been with Mike last, I was going to blame him.

"So how long have you been in here?" I asked, resting my arm on the rim of the toilet before laying my head on my arm.

Bella was resting her own head on the cold side of the tub. "Not sure. Four something?"

Seconds later, she groaned and leaned towards the toilet. Making a not-so-happy sound, I pulled away and tried to cover my eyes and nose. I knew that if I saw or smelt whatever was making a reappearance I would throw up again. No matter how hard I tried to avoid it though, I still ended up throwing up. For the next two hours, Bella and I took turns hanging over the toilet.

When Charlie walked into the bathroom, he stood there for a moment looking at us. "Stomach flu?"

"Yes," Bella moaned while I waved a hand at him.

"Can I get either of you anything?" he asked.

"Water," I said while Bella answered, "No."

Charlie left the bathroom and headed downstairs for a few minutes before returning with two glasses of water. Taking one of the glasses, I swished the cold water around a bit before spitting it out. My mouth tasted disgusting and I knew it was going to be like that for a while. Charlie sat the second glass next to Bella before asking again if there was anything we needed. I said no, but Bella asked him to call the Newton's and let them know that she was sick and couldn't make it. After assuring that he would do that, he told us that he had to go to work, but that we would be able to call him if we needed him.

We didn't call him. Instead we took turns throwing up or sleeping. When he got home, he once again checked on us. After filling up our empty glasses, he grabbed a couple towels so we had something to rest our heads on as well as cover ourselves with if we got cold. Bella and I spent the night in the bathroom getting very little sleep. Thankfully it was only a 24-hour thing so by noon Sunday I felt pretty much good as new.

Kicking Bella out of the bathroom, I hopped into the shower and washed all the sweat and grossness from my body. Once that was done, I brushed my teeth probably a million times before they actually felt normal and my breath didn't smell like disgusting week old garbage. I met Bella outside the door. Now that I was feeling better and we both didn't feel like death, I was back to feeling mad at her. Pushing past her, I walked into my room and changed.

After throwing on some sweats and an old shirt, I made my way downstairs and grabbed something to eat. I didn't want to overwork my system so I just made myself a couple pieces of toast. Buttering them, I put them on a plate and carried them into the living room where I watched some TV with Charlie.

"I think I'm going to go call Jacob," I said an hour later. Although I tried to focus on the TV, I couldn't help but think about Jacob and all the things I had said to him. I couldn't leave things like that.

Charlie, who didn't know that we had fought, nodded his head but kept his eyes on the TV.

Heading upstairs, I pulled my phone off of its charger and dialed my boyfriend's number. The line rang and rang forever before it went to voicemail. Sighing, I waited for the beep before leaving a message. "Hey Jacob, It's me. I wanted to talk about Friday night. Call me back please?"

In the next two hours, I left another five messages. With each passing second, I felt my guilt grow. I needed to apologize for what I had said. I had no right to yell at him like that. I brought my phone downstairs with me when supper was ready, checking it every few minutes. After picking at my food, I returned to my room where I called Jacob again.

"Jacob, hey. Look I know I'm probably being that annoying, clingy girlfriend, but I just really need to talk to you," I said after I was once again told to leave a message. Sighing heavily, I sat down on my bed and covered my face with my hands.

"Alex?"

Removing my hands, I saw that my sister was standing in my doorway. She looked uncomfortable and was twisting her hands in front of her.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly.

Bella flinched at my harsh tone but didn't leave my doorway. "Can I talk to you?"

"I'd rather if you didn't," I said truthfully. Picking up my legs, I flipped myself around so my back was now facing her. I waited for the sound of my bedroom door closing only for it not to come.

"No, Alex. I really need to talk to you. You don't have to say anything, you just have to listen," Bella said sternly. I could hear her walking into my room and taking a seat at my vanity.

"Listen. I know you're mad at me because you think Jacob and I have something going on behind your back. But that's not true. I would never do that to you, Alex."

I turned around quickly. "Really? I shouldn't worry about you constantly drawing my boyfriend's attention. I can't remember the last time I've actually spent a moment alone with him. You're literally _always_ there." I could feel it coming, my emotions were getting the better of me and I started spouting out all my feelings. "I understand that he helped make you feel better after what stupid Cullen did to you, but he was mine first. You can't act like a zombie for three months and then expect me to let you swoop in and steal my boyfriend from me." I could feel tears burn my eyes and I let them fall. "I was hurt too, Bella. You were the only person I could actually talk to about what had happened and you just shut me out!"

Breathing heavy, I brought my hands to my face. My body shook as I cried. My shoulders felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of them. After months off bottling everything up, it felt good to get it all out in the open.

I jumped suddenly when a slender arm wrapped itself around my shoulders. Looking up, I saw Bella looking at me with tears in her eyes and a heartbroken expression on her face.

"I'm so sorry, Alex. I know I've been a really shitty sister," she said slowly, "I guess when…_he… _left I just didn't know what to do. You know I've never been the best at dealing with feeling or whatever. I guess I was just so caught up in everything that I didn't even think that you knew them too."

"You shouldn't have shut me out. We couldn't have gone through it together," I muttered, sniffling softly.

"I know. But even though I shut you out, you still looked out for me and I never thanked you for that." Making sure I was looking at her, she gave me a look that told me she was serious. "I want you to know that without you, I probably would have been a lot worse.

"As for Jacob. He is nothing more than a really good friend to me. I see him as a brother." Bella went on. "I'm sorry for taking your time away from him, but he helped me feel normal again. He helped fill the hole that had been left in my chest. Again, I didn't think about your feelings."

"I guess it's not totally your fault. I should have told you how I felt about the whole thing," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I guess we're both really crappy at dealing with our feelings."

Bella gave a small chuckle. "I guess we are. But Alex, I want you to know that I'm going to make it up to you."

I quickly shook my head. "Bella, you don't have to do that."

"No, I want to. I owe it to you."

She told me she had heard me leave continuous messages for Jacob and offered to help call him. She said that the odds were better. With both us calling every once and a while, he would have to pick up sooner or later. I tried to tell her she didn't have to a few more times before finally giving in. She had a point; we would probably reach him sooner if we both called. Now that I had made up with her, I really felt the need to make up with Jacob.

* * *

Even with Bella's help it wasn't until Wednesday that either of us got a hold of someone. It was after school and Bella had decided to call the house while I once again left a message on Jacob's cell. Billy ended up answering the phone and told Bella that Jacob was sick with mono and that that was why he hadn't been returning any of our phone calls. Bella offered to send me up there to help take care of Jacob but she must have been rejected because shortly after Bella hung up the phone with a defeated sigh.

"He said he had it all under control," she muttered, turning around to face me. "What's wrong?"

I had lowered myself into one of the kitchen chairs, expression empty. "He has mono?"

Bella furrowed her brows together for a moment before she caught on. "Alex I'm sure he got is a different way."

"Really? Because it isn't called the kissing disease for nothing." Here I had thought he was making moves on my sister behind my back and now it turns out it was a complete stranger. A ping of rage built up in my chest as well as betrayal. Here I had thought I had found an amazing guy that put Edward to shame, someone who wouldn't leave me in the dust after making me fall for him. Now it was looking like he was exactly the same.

* * *

After trying for a week, I finally got a call back from Jacob on Friday night. I was in the middle of doing my homework but quickly pushed it aside when I saw who was calling. Grabbing my phone, I clicked the answer button and brought the device to my ear.

"Jacob. I'm so glad you called me back," I said excitedly, a sigh of relief escaping my mouth. "Listen, about last Friday-"

"Lexi, we need to break up," came Jacob's voice without warning.

"What?" I asked, unable to believe that I had heard him right. "What did you say?"

"I'm breaking up with you."

My mouth went dry. "Is…is there someone else?"

"What? No, Lexi, of course there isn't." I listened as he sighed on the other end. "I just… can't be with you anymore."

"Maybe I could come over and we could talk-"

"No, Alex. You have to stay away." His voice sounded desperate. "Goodbye."

Without another word, the line clicked dead. I sat there for a moment. It felt as though all the air had been sucked out of my lungs. My heart had stopped beating the moment he called me Alex, something he hasn't called me in months. My phone fell from my hand as it moved to cover my mouth. My other arm wrapped around my chest as the sobs started to shake my body.

I didn't know what to do. Just like that I had lost my boyfriend, my best friend. I wondered if this is what Bella felt like. She had talked about a hole, but it didn't seem that simple. I felt strange admitting it seeing as we hadn't dated for that long, but I felt like I was missing an arm or a leg. I wasn't whole. I was missing a very important piece of myself.

* * *

Authors Note:: So that was bumpy but at least it got the point across. I told you guys you were going to hate this chapter. Stupid Jacob, that is not how you break up with someone. Next chapter is going to be interesting, I'm pretty excited for it and too see how you all react to it. Thanks everyone who left a review on last chapter. There was eleven of them and they all made me so happy I sat there smiling like an idiot for I don't know how long. So Bella did call Jacob, but she did it for Alex. She's trying to make it up to her sister. I never liked Jacob making fun of Mike either. There will probably be more times where Alex puts Jacob in his place. Not saying anything about imprinting.


	14. Badass Bella

**Chapter Fourteen: Badass Bella**

I pretty much spent the rest of Friday night crying which left my eyes a lovely shade of red with the added bonus of being puffy. When I went down for breakfast, Charlie about jumped out of his seat when he saw me. I could only imagine how I looked. Red eyes and nose, my hair a mess, I was wearing my rattiest pair of sweats, and the t-shirt I was wearing was so large that it hung off one of my shoulders.

"What happened to you? Did your flu come back?"

I shook my head as I fell into my usual seat at the table. Leaning forward, I buried my head in my hands and tried not to cry as I once again thought about last night. Although I couldn't see him, I knew that Charlie must have been giving me a strange look. I mentally tried to prepare myself for him to ask me what was wrong. But he never did. Probably he couldn't think of a good way to ask so he just turned back to his newspaper. I knew because I could hear the faint crinkle of the pages as he straightened them.

I sat there for a few minutes in peace before Bella came downstairs. She was only in the kitchen for a few seconds before she said the dreaded two words.

"Alex, what's wrong?"

Lifting my head, I opened my mouth to speak only to have a small whimper escape my lips. Tears welled in my eyes and started to fall as I brought my hands to my face. Bella was at my side in seconds, placing a comforting arm around my shoulder. Charlie looked on uncomfortably as Bella tried to calm me down and figure out what was bothering me. It took me a while, but I was soon able to calm down enough to speak.

"Jacob b-b-broke up wi-with me l-last night," I stuttered out, wiping my nose on the back of my hand.

"What? Did he stop by or something last night? Was he feeling better?"

She had worked last night so she was wondering if she had missed him. A look of confusion crossed her face. If he had been here last night then that would have meant he either came while feeling really sick or he had been sick with something other then mono like Billy had said. She kind of hoped that it was the latter but that didn't explain why he would just show up to break up with Alex.

After taking a few deep breaths, I was able to explain what had happened. He hadn't shown up but rather called me and broke up with me that way. Bella looked angry while Charlie sat quietly in his seat. I wondered if he thought I was going to slip into a depression like Bella. Turned out he had been thinking because a moment later he was pushing himself up from the table.

"I'm going to call Billy," he said before walking over to the wall phone and punching in the Black's phone number.

I pushed myself up too and walked over to the fridge. Grabbing a tub of ice cream, I pulled a spoon out of the drawer before excusing myself up to my room. Once there, I wrapped myself in the blanket my mom had gifted me before loading a Disney movie on my computer and watching it while periodically bringing large scoops of ice cream to my mouth. I did this for most of the day, leaving my room only to go to the bathroom and get more snack food.

I was just starting _The Hunchback of Notre-Dame _when Bella walked into my room. I didn't even look away as she came to stand next to my bed.

"Alex, I've been calling Jacob all day and haven't gotten through. I'm going to go down to his house," she said.

Pausing my movie, I turned to look at her. "So."

"So I think you should come with me."

"I'll pass," I muttered before moving my computer and turning over so that my back was now to her. I didn't want to go to his house. I had gotten passed my constant crying phase and didn't really want to go through it again. I started my movie again only to have it paused once more by Bella reaching over me.

"Alex, I don't want you to end up like I did," she said, "I think you should talk to Jacob face to face."

"That's just it, I don't want to see him," I muttered, wrapping my blanket closer around me. "I want to stay here, watch movies, and mope."

I don't know how it happened, but Bella was able to talk me out off bed. I didn't change, but I did brush out my hair before pushing it into a bun. Pushing my arms into my raincoat, I stomped out to the truck and sat with my arms crossed over my chest. I didn't say anything the entire drive over until we arrived at our destination. We were just driving towards the front when movement caught my eye. Looking around I saw that it was Jacob.

"There he is," I said quietly, turning away. I was feeling a mix of sadness and anger, though I don't know which was most dominant.

Bella stopped the truck and turned it off. "Come on," she said, opening the door and hopping out.

"No. I'm staying right here," I insisted, looking at my sister stubbornly. She gave me a pleading look but I turned away. She wasn't going to talk me into going to face Jacob. I wasn't ready for that.

Even though it was raining hard, I could still hear the faint sound of her sighing before she shut the door with a loud creak. The last thing I heard was her shouting Jacob's name before rushing to catch up with my ex-boyfriend.

* * *

"Hey!" Bella yelled louder. This time, Jacob stopped and turned around to look at the approaching Swan girl.

By the time she reached him, her sweater was soaked and her dark hair clung to her pale cheeks and forehead. With her browns eyes, she took in the appearance of her friend whom she had not seen for a week. The difference was unbelievable.

"You cut your hair off? And you got a tattoo?"

Jacob turned his head briefly towards the circular marking on his shoulder, identifying him for what he was. Looking away, he noticed the red truck and the familiar form sitting in the passenger seat. The rain kept him from seeing clearly but he knew who it was; Alex. Quickly, he turned away and put his focus on the girl in front of him.

"I thought you where too sick to come outside." Bella continued. "Or pick up the phone when Alex or I called."

She watched as he flinched slightly at her sister's name. "What? Does it both you to hear her name? Does it make you think about what you did last night?"

"Bella. Go away," Jacob said though a tightly clenched jaw. After flashing her a glare, he turned around and took a step towards the woods.

Bella moved fast, grabbing his arm to hold him in place. "Whoa, hey! What's the matter with you? Obviously you're not sick so what is it? What happened?" she asked. "Was it Sam? Did he get to you?" She added when Jacob didn't answer.

"Sam is trying to help me."

"Oh now he's trying to help you? Just a few weeks ago he was scaring you to the point that Alex was going to get Charlie involved."

Once again Jacob flinched at the name. "I was wrong about Sam, this isn't his fault. If you want someone to blame, how about those flighty bloodsuckers you love? The Cullens."

A clap of thunder rang through the sky as he spoke, but Bella had heard him just fine. Did he know about their secret? She didn't know what to think or how he could have found out. She forgot that it was his tribe legends that had tipped her off when she had tried to figure out what they were just a year ago.

"I don't know what you're—" She started, brushing the statement off.

Jacob wouldn't let her.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." He was shaking slightly, his anger rippling through his body. "You've been lying to everyone, to Charlie. But you can't lie to me."

Bella hung her head for a moment before turning on Jacob, pointing a finger at his bare chest. "You can't lie to me either. The Cullens didn't make you break up with my sister last night. I've seen the way you look at her. You don't just throw that away over a stupid fight or some other girl!"

She didn't want the focus on her anymore and she definitely didn't want the conversation to continue with the Cullens as the main subject. She still didn't feel comfortable talking about them. She figured she would change the topic to something that would make Jacob uncomfortable.

And Jacob did look uncomfortable.

"That has—It's not—I just had too. She wouldn't be safe." He finally managed to get out.

Bella opened her mouth to ask why when a voice started yelling Jacob's name. Bella and Jacob both looked towards the woods where they saw Sam and the three other boys waiting. Sam beckoned Jacob with a wave of his arm.

"We can't be friends anymore," Jacob said, turning back to Bella.

"No, you can't say that." Bella started with a shake of her head. "I can't take losing my best friend. And you can't leave Alex like that. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. You can't be with someone and then suddenly change your mind and treat them like they didn't matter."

Bella had started out meaning Jacob breaking up with Alex over the phone. But as she kept going she slowly found herself talking about herself and what Edward had done to her. In the end they were pretty similar in different ways so it didn't really matter.

"I didn't mean to hurt Alex—"

"Well you did."

Jacob once again flicked his eyes to the figure sitting in the truck. "Tell her I'm sorry. That it's not her—"

"It's you?" Bella finished, interrupting him once again. "That line is bullshit. If you want to apologize, man up and do it yourself. She's right there."

Jacob's eyes turned away from the truck and locked with Bella's brown ones. A sad glint passed through them as he shook his head. "I'm not good Bella. Not anymore. Now go home, and don't comeback."

Before Bella could stop him, he turned and started running off towards Sam and the others, never once looking back. Bella watched him go until he disappeared into the trees. Sighing heavily, she turned around and started back towards the truck where her sister sat waiting.

* * *

"Did you have fun yelling at my ex?" I asked as soon as Bella opened her door and got in the truck. She was completely drenched and I had her start the truck, turning the heater on full blast before making her tell me what had happened.

I couldn't hear what they had said as they were too far away and the rain was too loud, but I could faintly make out their shapes. Most of my focus had been on Bella. And from the way she had been standing a lot of the time, I could tell that she hadn't exactly gone easy on him.

"He's changed," Bella said after she started drying off.

She then started to tell me what had happened while she started off towards home. I'm not going to lie, when she told me about how he had acted whenever she said my name, a strange feeling stirred in my chest. I didn't look too much into it, though. I did find it interesting though that he had brought up the Cullens and put the blame for whatever had happened on them even though they haven't been here for months now. It just didn't make any sense.

* * *

Authors Note:: Sorry we're a day late with this update, I was busy with personal stuff. This chapter was going to have a different beginning, but I couldn't make it work so I went with this opener instead. Because of this, last chapter has been edited a bit to bring up the whole, Jacob has mono situation. Anyway, it felt weird to be writing in third person for this story so sorry if that whole middle section is crap. It's funny how I normally write everything in third but because this story is in first my whole mind is shifting so it's hard for me not to write first. Anyway, thanks for the sixteen reviews guys, that is just amazing. Still not going to comment on the imprinting thing. We're going to have a lot of fun when Alex finds out Jacob's secret. I have two chapters planned out where she pretty much just lets Jacob have it. He really deserves it so it's going to be pretty fun. Just two more chapters till we get to the wolves, I'm so excited for that. Thank you everyone else who has favorite, followed, or is just reading this story. It really means a lot to me! :)


	15. Should Have Stayed Home

**Chapter Fifteen: Should Have Stayed Home**

The next week was hard for both Bella and I. Without Jacob; Bella went back to having a lot of nightmares and spending most of the day in silence. I spent half the week still feeling sorry for myself before I finally decided it was time for me to get over it. Leslie, like the best friend she was, was all for trying to make me feel better as she constantly put Jacob down by saying things like she knew he was no good and that he was a bigger idiot than she thought for letting me go. Honestly, I think she was having way too much fun with the Jacob bashing.

I was so happy when Saturday came around because it meant I could finally be alone and not have to deal with my friend's sympathetic looks all the time. I know they meant well but it was start to get annoying.

After making myself some eggs for breakfast, I made myself comfortable in bed and started reading. It was such a comfort being able to lose myself inside another world for a while. I could focus on the problems of the fictional characters instead of my own. I read for a couple of hours before I started to get hungry. Finishing the chapter, I placed my bookmark between the pages and sat the book down on my bed before heading downstairs. Humming to myself, I got out the ingredients for a sandwich before setting to work creating my masterpiece. Adding some chips to my plate, I grabbed a pop from the fridge before sitting down at the table to eat.

I had just finished eating and was putting everything away when Bella came downstairs. "Where are you off to that you're dressed like that?" I asked, eyeing her backpack and boots.

"I'm, ah, going to go hiking," Bella muttered, not looking at me.

"You? Hiking? Why?"

"I, I want to find our meadow."

I gave her a confused look. We didn't have a meadow. I was just about to point that out when I realized she must have been talking about her and Edward. It had been so long without any word from them I wondered if she needed proof that they had really existed.

"Okay, I'll come with you," I said, smiling softly. "Just let me go get changed."

Bella looked at me for a moment before shaking her head. "No, you should stay here."

I shook my head as well. "Bella, I'm not going to let you go out in the woods by yourself. There are killer bears out there," I teased. I don't know why people where making such a big deal out of it, if there really was bigger than average bears out in the woods someone would have caught one or at least brought back a picture already. Until I saw proof, I wasn't going to believe that they existed.

Grabbing the keys quickly so Bella couldn't leave without me, I hurried up to my room so I could change out of my pajamas. Pulling a pair of thick black leggings from my dresser I put them on before pulling a white tank top over my head. From my small closet, I gabbed a thick flannel shirt with a hood to go over my tank. Lastly, I laced my feet into my combat boots before emptying my backpack of my books so I could put supplies in it.

I'd gone hiking a couple times with both Charlie and Jacob so I knew what I needed. Heading downstairs, I went around the kitchen and grabbed everything I thought I would need. After filling up two water bottles with water, grabbing a flashlight and extra batteries, the small first aid kit on top of the kitchen, and a few granola bars, I turned to Bella and threw her the keys.

"Okay, let's head out!"

"Alex, you really don't have to come with me," Bella insisted as we headed out the front door.

"Bella, I can't stay cooped up in the house anymore. I'm tired of feeling sorry for myself. I want to do something," I told her truthfully.

Bella looked at me for a moment before sighing, "Okay then."

* * *

"How much farther do you think it is?" I asked after we had been hiking for an hour.

My ponytail wiped around into my face as I leaned my head forward in the hopes of catching my breath. For someone who tripped over flat surfaces, Bella was moving quickly through the woods. There wasn't a real trail to follow so there was a lot of climbing over fallen trees and stuff. It was a lot of work.

"It's gotta be close," Bella answered hopefully, not looking back at me.

And she was right; it was close. Within the next ten minutes, we pushed through the tree line and stepped into the edge of a large clearing. Now when you think of meadows, I'm sure you picture green grass, lot of flowers, and maybe a few butterflies or bees flying around. Well this meadow was nothing like that. This meadow was made up of brown dead grass and nothing else.

I watched as Bella took a few steps into the meadow, looking around with a defeated look on her face before falling to her knees. She stayed like that for a moment before bringing one of her arms tightly to her chest. A sad expression pulled at my features as I walked over to her before bending down and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. I felt them shake for a moment before she straightened them.

"There's nothing left of him," she whispered sadly.

"I'm so sorry," I said softly, "Let's go home."

Grabbing her shoulders tightly, I helped pull her up to the ground. Turning around, we started towards the woods when something rustling to our left. We turned in the direction to see what it was only to hear some more rustling to our other side. We scanned all around the clearing only to find nothing. We were just about to turn around when movement caught our eyes. Turning around once more we saw that we were no longer alone.

"Bella," Laurent said softly, just loud enough so that we could hear him all the way across the meadow. "And her little sister."

I gotta say; I was kind of offended that he didn't remember my name. But then again, I hadn't been the main focus of James' little game last year.

I blinked and suddenly he was closer, probably five feet away. "I must admit, I did not expect to find you here."

Slowly, he started to make an arc around us, his bright red eyes primarily focused on Bella but occasionally flicking towards me. His movements and posture were casual, but I could feel something off about it. He may have helped us out by telling us a bit about James, but I still didn't trust him. I didn't trust his red eyes that marked him as a vampire who drinks human blood.

"I went to visit the Cullen's, but their house was empty. I'm surprised they left you and your little sister here behind. Weren't you sort of pets of theirs?"

Bella made a face at that. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"They had to move on so as not to give away their secret," I said, moving slowly so that I was closer to Bella.

Laurent raised his brows slightly, surprised. "Do the Cullen's visit often then?"

Next to me, Bella took in a deep breath, like something had just jumped out in front of her face. Not wanting Laurent to get suspicious, I started nodding my head to answer his question.

Bella seemed to quickly pull herself together because she soon started to nod her head as well, "Absolutely. All the time."

Okay, she was so not helping. Her voice sounded nervous, not at all natural. She was going to give us away.

"We'll tell them you stopped by," Bella added, this time sounding calmer. "No maybe I shouldn't because you know… Edward…is _very_ protective."

She did fine until she mentioned Edwards name. I couldn't remember her saying his name sense the night he left her stranded in the woods. It made since that the thought of that asshat gave her pause. But not now when we were trying to convince this human blood-drinking vampire that the Cullen's hadn't just abandoned us.

"But he's far away, isn't he." It wasn't a question. Laurent had picked up on Bella's hesitation and knew that we were lying. I could just feel it.

"Why are you here?" Bella asked with a strange confidence, stopping me from making up a lie about the Cullen's whereabouts.

"I came as a favor…to Victoria."

My blood turned cold. First Laurent is back and now so is the psycho bitch Victoria. Mentally, I started cursing Edward for the situation he had left us in.

"She asked me to come and see if you were still under the protection of the Cullen's." Laurent continued. "Victoria feels it is only fair to kill Edward's mate because he killed hers. An eye for an eye."

"That saying doesn't mean anything when the mate in question was a psycho killer!" I said angrily, quickly regretting it as Laurent turned his blood red gaze to me, his head turned slightly.

"Edward would know who did it," Bella threatened, or well, tried to threaten. "And he'd come after you."

Laurent made a face like he was thinking, before shaking his head. "I don't think he will. See, how much could he possibly love you if he left you here unprotected." He then gave a mournful sigh. "I feel so bad for what must happen next."

Bella and I looked at him, matching confused expressions on our faces. Without warning, he was suddenly inches away from us. I jumped back in fright, but he caught me, his dark hand clenching my throat. A gasp passed my lips as I felt his cold skin against my neck. He wasn't squeezing, yet, but I knew it was coming.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked, her eyes wide with panic.

"Victoria sent me her for information. Sadly, I must leave you for her. But she did not say anything about your sweet little sister. Sure she doesn't smell as mouth watering as you, but I am hungry and she will taste sweet enough."

Like I had thought he started squeezing my neck, cutting off my air supply. Instantly, my hands went to his to try and remove them. It made no difference though. His figures moved themselves into a better position before he started to lift me off my feet. Bringing my neck to his face, he turned my head so that the side of my neck was exposed before slowly bringing his mouth towards my tender flesh. Bella tried to hit as his arm holding me, but he pushed her to the ground with an easy flick of his left hand.

His teeth had just brushed my neck when rustling in the tree behind us caught Laurent's attention. Lifting his head, I watched through slightly blurry eyes as his expression changed to one of fear.

"I…don't believe it."

Because it was behind me and I literally could not move my head, I had no idea what it was. But I could still hear it. And from the deepness of the rumble it let out I could only assume that it was something very, very big. A few seconds passed as Laurent looked at the creature before it let out a growl so loud that it made a Lion's roar sound like the mew of a kitten in comparison.

Laurent's eyes flickered to me for half a second before he released my neck and turned to run away. I had lost all feeling in my legs the short amount of time that he held my neck so they were unable to support me. Crumpling to the ground, Bella quickly crawled over to me and asked if I was okay.

I nodded my head before looking behind me to see what it was that had scared the vampire away. I almost wished I hadn't when I saw the large black mass of fur not to far away from me. It had to be the biggest wolf in the damn world! But not the only one as three others were coming out of the trees as well to stand behind it. The black one must have been the leader because it suddenly took off after Laurent and the others followed close behind.

Lucky for Bella and I they didn't seem to notice us.

Quickly, the two of us pushed ourselves up so that we were both standing. Holding onto one another, we slowly started to back up towards the trees while we watched the large wolves chase after the vampire. We had only taken two steps when the sound of twigs snapping came from Bella's side. Snapping our heads in that direction, we came face to face with another wolf.

It was a different coloring than the others, a russet-brown instead of silver and gray. And unlike the others, it wasn't growling. It turned its large head towards us for a moment, an almost worried expression in its eyes. Right away I looked to the ground, knowing that some animals saw it as a change to be looked in the eye. I almost wondered if I had been too late when a loud growl rumbled in the creature's chest before it took off after the others.

Out of nowhere, Laurent stopped next to the tree line on the other side of the meadow and smacked one of the wolves away. We watched as it flew through the air before landing and skidding across the ground not to far from us. It must not have been too hurt because it quickly sprang to its feet before charging back towards the others.

"Let's get out of here," I muttered, pulling Bella back towards the trees.

* * *

Authors Note:: There you guys have it, a nice little sneak peak at the wolves. Next chapter will be interesting because you'll get to see Alex freaking out over the wolves. Oh, and after next chapter is when we get to the wolves! Thanks so much for the fourteen reviews last chapter guys! I'm so excited that I was able to get a few of you to like Bella for at least a moment. That's what I was hoping for so I'm calling last chapter a success. Bella will know about the wolves. Sides will be taken, it will be clear which side Alex is on by the end of this story. This chapter didn't come early, but I have another idea to make it up to you guys for being late those few times as well as to say thank you for being so awesome. I still have to do some thinking on it still but I'll probably be telling you guys about it with sunday's update. Thanks everyone else for following, favoriting, or reading this story! :)


	16. Change of View

**Chapter Sixteen: Change of View**

Bella and I ran blindly through the forest, not really caring where we were going so long as it was away from the meadow and the dangers we had left there. We both jumped at every little thing, be it a rabbit scampering out from under a bush or a squirrel running through the branches of a tree. Let me tell you something, it is hard to run through the woods while you are scared out of your mind and trying not to pee your pants. God, I felt like some helpless girl in a horror movie.

After what felt like hours we finally pushed trough the tree line to find that we had come out at a different place from where we head parked the truck and started. With fumbling fingers, we both looked at the map. It took us longer than we would have liked, but soon we found where we were and where the truck was. We were just south of it. Good thing my body was still bursting with adrenalin otherwise I don't think I would have been able to run to the truck after just speeding through the woods.

When we were finally able to make it to the truck, Bella pulled the keys from her pocket and unlocked the doors. As soon as we both got inside, we threw our arms around one another for a brief hug. We were still alive for now. The engine rumbled to life like it always did with a loud roar and Bella stomped on the gas. The truck gave a sudden lurch, kicking dirt and rocks up to leave a faint trail behind us as is took to the road.

Neither of us said anything the entire drive home as we were both freaking out. I could not get the image of the animals out of my head. I couldn't believe that they were wolves because they were bigger than should be possible. I could understand how people had confused them for bears. They were just so large that it was the only thing that made since even though they had to be at least double that of a bear.

Then there was the whole situation where I had almost been vampire chow. I could still feel Laurent's cold fingers around my neck. I wondered if I had a bruise. Pulling down the overhead mirror, I turned my head from side to side and saw that I was in fact beginning to bruise. I would have to start wearing scarves to cover it up. I didn't even want to imagine what Charlie would say or do if he saw them.

The cruiser was parked in its usual spot when we got home with Harry Clearwater's black truck behind it meaning they were back from their fishing trip. As we walked towards the front door, I buttoned my shirt up as high as it would go before letting down my hair in the effort to cover my neck. Running up the front steps, Bella locked the door behind us before rushing into the kitchen.

"Dad, I saw them!" She announced.

I followed her into the kitchen, eyes wide. I couldn't believe she was going to tell Charlie! He was going to be so mad!

"Bella? What's wrong?" Charlie asked, a confused look on his face.

"In the woods. They are _not _bears."

"What do you mean in the woods?" Charlie shook his head, his expression changing to one of annoyance, "Damn it, Bella. What the hell were you doing out in the woods?"

"Dad, that doesn't really matter right now," I said partly to keep him from yelling at us.

Charlie turned his gaze on me. "You too, Alex?" He was not happy.

"They're wolves. Like, _huge _wolves," Bella pressed.

"Dad, I've never seen anything that big in my life," I added.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harry's look at us suspiciously. "Are you sure about that, girls?"

Bella nodded her head quickly. "Yeah, we just saw them. They were after…something."

Charlie continued to look at us for a moment. "Wolves. Are you sure?"

Bella nodded her head again while I spoke. "There are five of them, dad."

I watched as Charlie seemed to think it over a moment before sighing. "Alright. Harry, feel like going hunting?" he asked, turning to face his friend. "Get some of your guys together?"

Harry shifted nervously for a moment before nodding his head. "Sure. Yeah. I'll just, uh." He gave Bella and I one last look before walking out of the room.

Charlie took a sip from his beer before pushing up from the table. "I should go to the station."

"Yeah, yeah. You should go," Bella said hastily.

"Can you girls just stay in the house for me, please," Charlie asked, giving us both a hard look.

Bella and I both nodded our heads before exiting the kitchen as well.

I was surprised when Bella followed me into my room. I sat on my bed and started taking off my boots while she closed my door and leaned against it.

"Alex, what are we going to do?" she asked. She looked scared. "Victoria is out there and is going to know that we're here all alone."

I threw my boots aside before getting up and pulling my older sister into a hug. She was shaking so I rubbed her back and tried to make her feel better.

"Hey, we're safe for now. We don't know if Laurent has gotten to Victoria yet or if she is even waiting in Forks. For all we know, those wolves could still be chasing him and she could be a few states over waiting for him to get back."

"Or they could be dead and Victoria is waiting outside our house right now," Bella snapped before crying into my shoulder.

"I think if she was outside she would have barged in already," I pointed out. "Look, it's been a long day. Let's go get you tucked into bed."

Bella said nothing but she didn't protest and I opened my door and started to lead her into her own room. After letting her change into something more comfortable. I tucked her into bed, sitting with her for a while until she closed her eyes. Then, tiptoeing back to my room, I changed out of my hiking clothes, grabbed my elephant blanket and book, and headed downstairs. Harry and Charlie were still here so I quickly wrapped my blanket around my neck and shoulders before heading into the living room where I settled into dad's chair before flipped through channels.

* * *

I ended up watching some stupid reality TV show for about an hour. In that time Charlie had gotten a search party together and they were off searching a section of the woods. Before he left, dad asked which part of the woods we had been hiking in but I said that I didn't exactly remember. I pointed to a section of woods that I thought the wolves and Laurent shouldn't be at.

I really didn't want my dad to get hurt, so the longer he searched the woods without finding anything, the better.

After turning the TV off, I curled my legs underneath me and pulled out my book to start reading. I don't know when it happened, but I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes the room was dark. Figuring I might as well head up to my room so I could sleep there, I grabbed my blanket and book before heading up the stairs. As I reached the top of the stairs, Bella's voice met my ears. A moment of panic ran through me as I thought of her begging for her life to Victoria. But when I heard the voice that replied was deeper and familiar, a rush of anger replaced my fear. Setting down my things, I stood by Bella's door and listened.

"Maybe we should just get out of here for a while. We'll just leave," Bella was saying, "You, me, and Alex."

"No, I don't want Alex part of this," Jacob said hastily, "Besides, it's not something that I can just run away from."

There was a small pause before Jacob said that he had to go and something about people wondering where he was. Figuring this might be my only chance to confront him, I pushed open the door. Almost instantly I wished I hadn't as I saw Jacob pull my sister into a hug.

"Wow, for someone who has mono you're out and moving around a lot," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Bella and Jacob quickly let go of one another, my sister jumping slightly at my sudden appearance while Jacob quickly ducked his head and looked at the ground.

I took in his new appearance clearly for the first time. A week ago when she had confronted him at his house, Bella told me that he was different, but I almost didn't want to believe it. But now that he was standing in front of me I couldn't deny that he had changed. His long black hair had been cut short and he was once again without a shirt. I think he must have grown a couple more inches in the past few weeks as well as filled out even more because he looked ripped. He looked like one of Sam's followers.

_So it's true._

"What, you don't want to look at me now?" I asked, "I guess that makes sense seeing as you didn't even bother to come break up with me face to face. A phone call? Really, Jacob?"

My disappointment for him being part of Sam's cult slipped into my words. Jacob flinched slightly at my words.

"I'm sorry Alex, but it was the only way-" he started.

"The only way for what? I don't care what you have going on in your life; you never _ever _break up with a girl over the phone."

"I know but-" Jacob started again but I interrupted him a second time.

"Can you at least look at me if you're going to give me excuses? I think I deserve that much."

I watched as he stood there for a moment before slowly raising his head to look at me. Taking a deep breath, his dark brown eyes met my blue ones. I watched as his worried expression went blank as he looked at me. It was like he had never seen me before. With his eyes never leaving mine, he changed expression so fast it was hard for me to determine what they all were. One second he was relieved, another he was scared, then happy before settling on adoring.

I say adoring because I couldn't think of another word that described the way he was looking at me. It was like he was just seeing me for the first time or something. Never before have I had a boy look at me like that and especially not when I was in an old shirt and shorts with no make up on and chunks of hair falling out of my bun.

"Jacob?" Bella asked, reminding us both of her presence.

At the sound of his name Jacob seemed to snap out of whatever spell he had been under. Shaking his head, he turned to my sister for a moment before looking at me one last time.

"I've got to go," he muttered before turning away and heading towards the window.

"Jake? What are you doing?" Bella asked, following him to the window.

I stayed where I was, too confused to move. I did gasp, though, when Jacob jumped out of the window. Rushing across the room, I stood next to my sister and watched as he straightened up before running off towards the woods.

"How the hell did he do that without breaking something?" I asked.

"That's how he got in too," Bella said before turning around and walking towards her bed. Sitting on the end of it, she buried her head in her hands.

I walked over and sat down next to her, slinging my arm over her shoulder. "So why was he here in the first place?"

"He wanted to tell me something, I think."

"What do you mean 'you think'?"

Bella sighed before lifting her head from her hands. "He wouldn't exactly say. He said that he couldn't tell me because it wasn't his secret to tell. He wanted me to remember something so I could guess what it was."

I ran a hand down my face before sighing. "He's probably on drugs or something. He is hanging around with Sam now, after all." Although I hated to think about it, it was the only thing that I could think of that made sense; the creepy multi expression stare, the jumping from a window then running away like it was nothing.

"I don't know," was all Bella said.

I sighed once more before pushing myself up from her bed. "Well, I've had enough weirdness for one night. Charlie's still out with his search party. I'm going to go to bed."

Walking out of her room, I picked up my belongings from the hallway before settling under my covers. But I didn't sleep. I couldn't get Jacob's final look out of my mind. It wasn't every day that your boyfriend breaks up with you and then a few weeks later looks at you like you're the first glass of what he has come across after years in a desert.

* * *

Authors Note:: And so ends the first part of Alex yelling at Jacob. More to come soon. Some of you have already figured out that it was going to happen, but now you no for sure. Jacob has imprinted on Alex! I told you guys a few chapters back that you would like this update :) And now we get to move onto the awesomeness that is the wolves next chapter so get excited for that as well! Last chapter got seven reviews so thank you everyone that did that! Alex is way too forgiving when it comes to her sister, something Bella is very lucky for. Thanks everyone else for following, favoriting, or just reading this story. You all are awesome!


	17. Wolf Out

**Chapter Seventeen: Wolf Out **

I spent most of Sunday by myself. Charlie was out of the house most of the day searching the woods for the wolves with another search part. Bella had more or less locked herself in her room. I think I heard her leave her room once to go to the bathroom all day. But I guess I couldn't really judge her for that as I didn't leave my room much either. I just couldn't stop thinking about Jacob.

For the first couple of hours I tried to distract myself by either watching TV, a movie, or reading. Heck, I even started cleaning my room. That didn't last very long, though, as my stupid ex found a way to make my mind spin. So many emotions and thoughts swirled around in my head leaving my unable to tell which was strongest.

Since meeting his eyes for the first time in weeks and seeing him look at me so lovingly, I couldn't stop the constant butterflies that flapped around in my stomach. I mean; he had looked at me in such a way that I had only thought possible in movies. Then there was the betrayal and hurt I still felt when I thought about the possibility that there was someone else out there that he had been seeing on the side. Fear that Jacob and I would get back together. Fear that Jacob and I wouldn't get back together. Fear because I didn't know which of the two I wanted to happen. But the feeling I put most of my attention on and tried to make dominant was anger.

I was angry with Jacob for ignoring me for a week and then breaking up with me over the phone. I was angry with him for joining Sam's little cult. Angry with him for looking at me the way he did the night before after ignoring me some more. Angry with myself for not being able to stop thinking about him. With that fire rushing through me, I could at least think a little clearer.

But not clear enough for me to get a lot of sleep. Seriously, I was so happy that Monday marked the first day of spring break because if I would have had to get up early I might have killed somebody. When I finally pulled myself out of bed, it was close to noon.

"Alex!" Bella cried as soon as I stepped out of the door. She finished climbing the stairs and grabbed me by my shoulders. "I think I figured it out!"

"Not now, Bells. I'm tired and hungry," I said, trying to shrug her off.

She didn't let me go. "I'm sorry, Alex, but you have to get dressed."

I glared at her. "And why should I get dressed instead of go and get some food?"

"Because I think I figured out what Jacob wanted me to remember. I need to talk to him though and I think you should be there."

"Why do I have to be there? Why can't you just tell me what you think it is now?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Because I want to make sure I'm right first and Jacob's the only one who can confirm that," she insisted before pushing me back into my room.

I continued to glare at her but did as she said. "Fine, but you better go and fix me something to eat," I muttered before closing the door behind me.

I didn't put too much effort into the clothes that I picked out, just a simple pair of black jeans, a white tank top, and an oversized gray cardigan. I had just pulled on my shoes when I remembered a scarf. Yesterday, the bruise on my neck had darkened to a purple so I really didn't fancy showing that bad boy off any time soon. I would have to look into finding some way to help it heal faster.

When I went downstairs, Bella was pacing the kitchen. As soon as she saw me, she quickly handed me a plate with two slices of peanut butter and banana toast before leaving through the front door. I watched her go for a moment before following, taking a large bite of my breakfast.

She sure knew how to win me over.

The drive to La Push was silent as Bella put all her focus on the road in front of her and I put all my attention on my breakfast. Although I was still tired, I did feel a little better now that I had food in my stomach. When we got to Jacob's house, Bella quickly turned the truck off and hopped out before jogging slightly to the front door. After pounding on the glass a bit, Billy finally appeared and opened it.

"Bella?" he said, a surprised look on his face. His eyes only widened more when he saw me standing behind her. "Alex? What are you two doing here?"

"We need to see him."

Billy seemed to get over his surprise quickly. "I'm sorry, he's not in."

"Well, that's too bad, I guess we have to go home now," I said, grabbing Bella's arm so I could lead her back to the truck. Now that we were here, the many different emotions were rushing around in my head and I really didn't want to deal with them in front of Billy.

Bella didn't leave, though. She just pulled her arm from my grasp before moving around Billy and heading into the house. "I'm sorry, I just really need to see him."

Taking a deep breath, I tried to get my feelings under control as I gave Billy an apologetic look before following after my sister. Billy called our names, but didn't follow after us. Coming to his door, Bella threw it open to reveal Jacob asleep. He seemed to have outgrown his bed because he was all curled up with limbs half hanging over the sides. But he looked peaceful and I couldn't help but think how cute he looked.

"Now what?" I whispered, shaking my head slightly to chase away the thought before turning to look at Bella.

"I don't know. Wait?"

A faint cry filled the silence, drawing my eye out the window. Four shirtless boys were walking out of the woods towards the house. Sam and his little band of followers. Like yesterday, I put anger before all of my other feelings. Turning around, I pushed past Billy who once again called out my name, a warning tone in his voice, and headed outside towards the people I had decided to release some of my pent-up anger on.

"Well look who it is, Sam and his merry little band of druggies," I called out as I stormed down the hill towards them.

"What did you say-" One of the boys started angrily, but I ignored him. Coming closer, I shoved Sam hard in his chest, ignoring the heat that met my hands as they made contact with his skin.

"Why couldn't you have left him alone? Why did you have to take him away from me?" With each question I pushed him again. It didn't seem to do anything though as he set his feet. He didn't stop me, though. "Surely these idiots were buying enough of your crap that you could have left him alone!"

"We didn't do anything." The boy from before growled, stepping forward to glare at me.

Sam shot out a hand, catching the boy in the chest to stop him from getting any closer. "Cool it."

The boy didn't listen. "What did he do? What did he tell you? Huh?"

Bella, who had followed me out of the house, turned to the boy. "Nothing. He tells us nothing because he's scared of you."

The boys, except for Sam, started to laugh at her. I turned to glare at Embry. He had been my friend once and now he was laughing at my sister. Noticing my glare, he quickly stopped laughing and looked at me apologetically. Bella, not liking the laughter either, took a page out of my book and smacked the angry boy across the face.

"Oh, too late now." The boy at the end of the line said, an amused look on his face.

The boy Bella hit suddenly turned to glare at her, his entire body shaking. Sam placed a hand on his chest once more to hold him back.

"Bella, get back," he ordered before telling the boy to calm down.

I put a protective arm out in front of Bella, watching the boy carefully as we both took a step back. I had never seen someone act like that before. His whole body continued to shake violently and a loud growl rumbled from his chest. Bending forward, there was a sudden ripping sound before the boy blew apart and large silver and gray wolf took his place.

"What the fuck," I muttered, eyes growing wide.

A boy had just turned into one of the large ass wolves Bella and I had seen in the meadow a few days ago. A BOY HAD TURNED INTO A WOLF! Boys weren't supposed to do that!

I couldn't move. Somehow my mind was able to register Sam yelling at the boy/wolf, Paul. I heard him say my name and something about how he couldn't hurt me. I have no idea what Sam was talking about because the wolf seemed more than capable of hurting me.

The next thing I knew, Bella was yelling for me to run, I heard Jacob yelling my name, and Embry was grabbing me and pulling me aside. He held me protectively against his chest and I didn't fight him. Turning my head, I saw the wolf chasing after my sister and was actually very thankful for Embry's powerful arms around me because my legs quickly turned to jelly. I about passed out when I saw Bella trip, the wolf getting closer. I'm glad I didn't though because then I would have missed the little sight where Jacob jumped over her and turned into a wolf as well.

My ex-boyfriend had also turned into a large wolf. I didn't get to freak out about that as much though because he quickly crashed into the first wolf. The next couple of seconds where filled with growling and snarling as the two bit and knocked into each other before taking off into the woods. Although I couldn't see them now, I could still hear them.

"Somebody tell me what the _fuck _is going on right now!" I yelled when the sounds of growling and breaking trees finally started to fade.

Sam looked at me for a moment before saying, "Take them back to Emily's place," and heading off towards the tree line where the two wolves had disappeared.

The first boy nodded his head before taking off towards Bella.

"Come on, Alex," Embry said, taking a step towards my sister as well. I didn't move though so he had to pick me up. I struggled for a few seconds, but quickly stopped and just let him carry me. Bella was still in shock when we reached her.

"Hey, you're not going to puke are you?" Jared asked, bending down to her level.

Slowly, she turned her eyes to look at him. "I don't _think_ so."

"Well, the wolf's out of the bag now," Embry muttered before turning to me. "Do you think you can stand now?"

I thought about it for a moment before nodding my head. Carefully, Embry sat me on my feet but still kept and arm around my shoulder so that I had some support just in case my legs betrayed me.

"So are you guys going to tell me what the hell just happened or not?" I asked, bringing attention to my still unanswered question.

"Um, I think we should head over to Emily's like Sam said. We can explain every thing when we get there," Embry said.

Jared nodded his head. "I think you're right. But you should probably drive, she really doesn't look good and Alex doesn't even look like she can stand."

He had a point there as I was leaning heavily on Embry. "The key's are in the ignition," I said.

Embry had to help walk my sister to the car as she really did still looked like she was going to be sick. Jared commented on this and made a bet with Embry on whether or not she would puke. Although still wobbly, my legs were working so I was able to walk to the truck without any help, though Jared and Embry both looked like they were ready to catch me if I would happen to lose my balance.

Because there was no way for all four of us to fit inside the cab of the truck, Jared was stuck riding in the back while I was forced to sit in the middle. Neither of us really minded because then he didn't have to threaten getting sick if Bella happened to throw up and I didn't have to deal with her leaning across me to get to the window. As the truck rumbled to life, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down as I thought about the newest addition to the crazy book that was my life; boys could turn into wolves.

* * *

Authors Note:: Ugh, writing about the feelings at the beginning of this chapter was boring and difficult but I felt like it needed to be done. But on the bright side, how about Alex's reaction to the wolves! I had a lot of fun writing that. Thanks so much for the amazing fourteen reviews last chapter! Alex probably would have been able to figure it out if Bella had given her more details about what Jacob wanted her to remember. But she didn't so Alex got a surprise this chapter. Alex will be getting back and Jacob for how he treated her but I think I might have her flirt a bit with Paul because that sounds like fun so thanks for the idea. I have idea's for that but they might change by the time I actually get to it. He probably will be very protective though when it comes to the newborn army. Thanks for all the other amazing comments as well everyone! And thanks everyone else for following, favoriting, or just reading this story! You mean a lot to me too! :)


	18. What's Your Deal

**Chapter Eighteen: What's Your Deal**

"So if you're not going to tell me what is going on, can you at least tell me where we're going?" I asked Embry after a few minutes of driving in silence. "Who's this Emily?"

"Emily is Sam's fiancée. The others will meet us there after Sam's done yelling at them for what just happened. After Paul and Jake find some clothes that is," Embry answered.

"What, you're clothes don't magically reappear once you're done hulking out?" I asked, only half sarcastic. You would think if vampires and transforming boy/wolves were real than magic was also. And if magic was real than they wouldn't have to worry about their clothes disintegrating when they changed.

"Nope, if we're still wearing our clothes when we, ah, 'hulk out' as you put it, then they get shredded. I'm not even sure if Paul has anything left by now, not as often as he phases."

I didn't comment on that. The rest of the drive passed by in silence until we pulled up in front of a cute little house tucked away next to the tree line. Embry turned the truck off but left the keys in the ignition as he got out while Jared jumped from the back of the truck. Together they sounded the call that I was beginning to think they always did to announce their arrival.

"I think we should go back and make sure Jacob's okay," Bella said for the first time, sticking her head out the window to look at the boys who had met each other in front of the truck.

Jared turned back to look at her, a smirk playing on his lips. "I hope Paul gets some teeth in him. Serves him right."

"No way. Jake's a natural," Embry countered as they both started off towards the house. "Did you see him phase on the fly? I got ten says Paul doesn't touch him."

The two clasped hands, shaking to seal the bet. "Easy money."

As they let go of each other's hands, Jared took a step towards the house only to have Embry stop him by grabbing his shoulder. "Speaking of easy money." He held out his hand, waiting for Jared to pay him for their little bet about Bella.

"Ah, I don't have my wallet on me," he said.

"That's okay, I won't let you forget man," Embry teased, earning a shove from Jared.

The two continued to push and mess around with each other all the way to the front door where they stop. They must have finally realized that Bella and I weren't following them.

"Hey, come on. We won't bite," Embry beckoned.

"Speak for yourself," Jared said before entering the house.

Bella and I turned to each other, sharing a brief look before she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. I took a deep breath before unbuckling myself and exiting the truck as well. Moving slowly, we headed towards the front door where Embry stood waiting for us.

"Hey, I forgot to mention this back in the truck but, uh, about Emily, don't stare okay. It bugs Sam."

Bella's brows came together causing the smooth skin between them to wrinkle. "Why would we stare?"

But he was already gone. I turned to Bella, shrugging my shoulders quickly before heading towards the front door. I paused momentarily, my irrational fear of going to someone's house for the first time kicking in. Bella gave me a small push from behind, nudging me into the house where I stood uncomfortably.

Not too far away, a woman with silky black hair was talking while taking giant muffins from a tin and placing them in a large white platter. "You guys hungry?" she asked before chuckling slightly. "Like I have to ask…"

I could see right away why Embry had warned us not to stare. Half of Emily's face was badly scared by three long lines that ran from the top of her head to her chin. But despite that, she was still really beautiful. Her skin was a satiny copper with dark lashes framing her dark brown eyes.

"Who are they?" she asked, her eyes flickering from Bella to me.

"Bella Swan," Jared said before smirking, "And Alex." He said my name in a weird way, like someone sharing an inside joke. Emily seemed to be in on that joke because her eyes widened slightly with recognition. Obviously, they have talked about us before.

"So, you're the vampire girl," she commented, turning her attention to Bella.

"So you're the wolf girl," Bella said back, taking a step further into the house.

The left side of Emily's mouth twitched up at that as she lifted the platter of muffins from the counter. "I guess so. Well, I'm engaged to one anyway." Setting the plate down at the table, Embry and Jared pounced on them. "Save some for your brothers," she chastised, grabbing Jared's arm. He just smiled at her and brought the muffin to his mouth anyway as soon as she left go. "And ladies first. Would either of you like a muffin?"

I shook my head at her offer, but Bella accepted one. Stepping towards the table, she grabbed one before carefully moving to stand by the stairs. I followed her to the table where I took a seat in one of the empty chairs. Out of the three, I chose the one in the middle. I was still a little leery about them and the whole wolf thing so I thought I would give them some room for the time being.

"Leave it to Jacob to get around Sam's gag order," Emily muttered after a few seconds, turning back to the counter where she started cracking egg after egg into a large yellow bowl. "Do you know when him and the others will show up? These eggs shouldn't take too long."

"He, ah, he didn't say anything to me," Bella explained carefully before Embry or Jared could answer Emily's question.

"That's a wolf thing," Embry answered, his mouth full of muffin. He swallowed quickly before continuing. "Alpha's orders get obeyed whether we want to or not. Oh, and check it out, we can read each others thoughts."

"Will you shut up?" Jared asked, smacking Embry in the back of the head. "These are trade secrets. Damn it. This chick runs with vampires."

"Well, you can't really _run_ with vampires," Bella said. Jared, Embry, and Emily just looked at her. "Cause they're fast," she explained.

"Oh yeah?" Jared leaned low across the table, "Well we're faster. Freaked out yet?"

"Well, you're not exactly the first monsters I've met."

Embry laughed while Jared leaned back in his chair, a slightly disappointed look on his face. Taking another bite of his muffin, he turned to me.

"What about you? Are you freaked out? You've gotta be because you haven't said a word since you got here."

I looked at him, shaking my head slightly. "Oh, I'm not freaked out. Just sitting here wondering when my life got turned into an episode of Buffy."

Once again Embry laughed while Jared looked disappointed. What had he expected, Bella had pretty much said it. They weren't the first myths come to life that we had ever met and they knew that. Had they really expected us to start crying or something? Sure it was a hell of a shock when they first turned into wolves in front of me, but that's pretty much because it was so unexpected and just inches from my face. I don't care how brave you are, when you have a huge ass wolf growling mere inches from you, you are going to freak out. But once that all wears off, you're stuck wondering why it happened, a question of mine that still hasn't been answered.

Before I could once again ask what was going on, Sam walked through the door. His face quickly changed to one of love as he walked over to Emily, grabbing her tightly in his arms before kissing her, first on the lips then all the way down her scared face.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jared started complaining, "I'm eating here."

"Then shut up and eat," Sam said before turning his attention back to Emily, kissing her mouth again.

Jacob and Paul entered the house shortly after, both laughing and shoving each other playfully. They separated at the door, though, Paul coming to sit between Embry and I at the table while Jacob remained by the door. My eyes went to him instantly, I couldn't help it. He seemed happy by that because he gave me my favorite goofy grin. I couldn't help but smile back slightly, the corner of my lips perking up.

"Yes! Fifteen bucks!" Embry suddenly shouted while Jared wailed unhappily. Paul laughed as he pulled his arm back, a faint pink line no longer than my pinky standing out against his copper skin.

I turned my gaze back to Jacob who nodded his head towards the door. Bella, who had been watching, quickly detached herself from the stairs and went to stand next to him. I remained seated.

"Alex, do you mind if I talk to you?" he asked softly.

I paused for a moment, my face taking on a thoughtful expression as I 'thought it over'. After a few seconds, I shook my head. "Nah, I think I'm going to stay here and make some new friends." I said cheekily, waving my hand towards the three shirtless boys sitting across from me.

Paul, Jared, and Embry all oohed like students in a classroom when someone had been called to the office. The ooh's quickly turned to laughter. Paul turned to me and winked while I smiled back. I knew it was mean, but I was still miffed over how he had been treating me the past couple weeks and figured he deserved to be given a hard time though. I almost regretted the comment though when I looked towards the door once more and saw the sad expression on his face.

Sighing, I pushed up from the table. "Fine. Next time boys," I assured before following them out the door and towards the beach.

We walked for a while in silence before Bella broke it. She and Jacob were together and I trailed slowly behind them. I could feel Jacob turning back to check on me ever few seconds, but I kept my eyes down.

"So you're a werewolf."

"Yeah," Jacob answered, "Last time I checked."

I didn't know if I would have called them a werewolf. I mean; they didn't turn into any type of werewolf I've ever seen on TV or in the movies. They just turned into giant wolves, plain, non-humanoid wolves. But then again, real life vampires weren't exactly like they were depicted in movies or TV either. The ones in real life sparkled.

"A few lucky members of the tribe have the gene," Jacob continued. "Bloodsucker moves into town and the fever sets in."

"So you turn into a wolf and call in mono," I muttered, stopping.

Jacob and Bella stopped as well, both turning to look at me.

"Alex, I had nothing to do with that. I told my dad to come up with something and that was the first thing that came to mind. I'm so sorry." He really did look upset, but my anger kept me from stopping. I was not going to give in because he was upset.

"Why did he have to lie at all? You know what the Cullen's are. You know that Bella and I had been around vampires for months. Did you really think that I wouldn't accept you if you told me the truth?" I asked, sadness tugging my features.

I had thought I could trust him and he kept a huge ass secret from me.

"I would have told you, but Sam gave the order. I couldn't go against him."

"But you could still go to my sister. Give her clues and hints to figure it out while you continued to ignore me." Jacob opened his mouth to speak, but I continued, not giving him the chance. "Look, I understand now that you couldn't say anything about the wolf thing, I do. But that doesn't mean you had to completely ignore me like you did."

I could feel tears prickle my eyes so I quickly turned away. I did not want to let him see me cry.

"Come on, Bella," I called over my shoulder.

"But I still have questions," Bella called back.

"Stay and get them answered if you want. But I'm done. I'm going home."

I didn't even wait to see if she would stay or not, I just continued walking. After a few seconds, I could hear the sound of her feet jogging across the wet sand, occasionally splashing in a small puddle of water. When we got back to the house, I could hear the sound of the others laughing inside. I tried to ignore them as I got into the truck, waiting just enough time so that Bella could get in before starting the engine and driving away.

* * *

Authors Note:: First off, I would just like to say that the ending of last chapter has been changed slightly so if you want, you can go back and re-read that. Even though this chapter is pretty much just filler I kinda like it. Get ready for next chapter though, that's when we get Alex yelling at Jacob, part 2. It will also have Jacob telling Alex that he imprinted on her as well as why he avoided her and such. Thank you so much for the nine reviews last chapter! Bella won't get in the way as much any more. Haha, you're right, that is one way to find out what's up with your ex. Seeing as they are so active, they really won't come into play while she is still human. She would have to be a vampire for them to really take affect. The flirting with Paul won't go on for long, after a while it will just end up being a joking thing between them. But Jacob still won't like it so that will be funny. Thanks everyone else for following, favoriting, or just reading this story. It means a lot to me! :)


	19. Talk it Out

**Chapter Nineteen: Talk It Out**

That night Jacob seemed to call me nonstop. It seemed like my phone was ringing every five seconds. I didn't want to talk to him though so I just let it ring. I figured I would give him a taste of his own medicine; see how he liked having his phone calls ignored. I tried everything to help distract myself from the constant buzzing of my phone: reading, messing around on the Internet, and even cleaning my room. But nothing seemed to help as after a while I found it harder and harder to resist answer his calls.

I didn't know what it was, but I was slowly starting to feel like I had when Jacob had first broken up with me, like I wasn't whole. In the back of my mind somewhere, a voice whispered for me to answer it, promising that I would feel better if I did. Each time the voice got louder and louder until it was almost like someone was actually whispering it in my ear. It had soon gotten to the point where I was so afraid I would give in to the voice that I decided it would just be best if I turned my phone off and went to bed.

Sleep didn't come easy, though. I found myself dreaming of Jacob that night, sitting alone in his room with his phone pressed tightly to his ear. Over and over again he would hear my voicemail and sigh before re-entering my number. The pattern seemed to repeat itself over and over until I couldn't stand it anymore and forced myself awake.

It was early in the morning as I stretched my hand out to my bedside table. Grabbing my phone, I turned it on and was met with over a dozen messages. Sighing, I dropped my phone next to me on the bed before pushing myself up and heading downstairs for breakfast. There was no hope for me going back to sleep and I would need food in my stomach before I did anything today... like decide if I wanted to call Jacob back and sort everything out.

I met Charlie in the kitchen, his face hidden behind the morning's paper and a half-finished bowl of cereal in front of him. Grabbing two pieces of toast, I popped them in the toaster and leaned against the counter to wait.

"So, Jacob called here last night," Charlie said after a while, his face still hidden behind his paper.

"Really?" I muttered. I guess I should have figured that he would try here after I didn't answer me cell.

There came the slight crinkle of paper as Charlie turned the page before saying, "Yeah, he wanted to talk to you."

"I know. He called my phone about a million times last night and left at least a dozen messages."

My toast popped up and I quickly turned around to place them on a paper plate. Grabbing some peanut butter from a cabinet, I swiped a large amount on my near perfect toast before taking the seat across from my dad.

There was a moment's silence before Charlie lowered his paper, folding it up and setting it on the table before turning his attention to me. "I don't want you to think that I'm taking his side or anything because I'm still mad about how he had treated you," he started, "But I think you should hear him out. He sounded really worried."

I let out a sigh; setting down the piece of toast I was holding. My head tilted back so that I was looking up at the ceiling. "I know I should talk to him. But I think I'm going to let him worry a bit longer. I figured he should see how much it sucks not having someone answer your phone calls."

Lowering my head, I saw a smirk slowly stretch across Charlie's face. "Good. Show that boy he shouldn't mess with you."

Seems Charlie was still mad about how things between Jacob and I had gone. Although he had liked the kid, he did not like how I had been treated. After I told him Jacob had broken up with me, he had called Billy to see what was going on because I was too upset to tell him. He hadn't been happy when Billy gave him some half-ass story about how Jacob was sick and just needed time to himself so that he could get better. The fact that Bella started to slip back into her depression only seemed to make him angrier.

We didn't say much after that. I had just finished one slice of toast when Charlie decided that he should probably head off to work. Kissing me on the top of the head, he put his bowl in the sink before heading out the door. I sat there for a moment before finishing my last piece of toast quickly and heading back upstairs. I was just entering my room when my phone started ringing. Sighing, I decided that I might as well answer it.

"Alex!" His voice cried as soon as I hit the green answer button.

"What?" I asked in a slightly irritated voice though deep down I was happy to hear him.

"I've been calling and calling, but you haven't picked up."

"I know. It kinda sucks when the person you're calling doesn't ever bother to answer the phone."

There was a small pause as Jacob sighed on the other end of the phone. "I guess I deserve that."

"Ya think?" I commented, taking a seat on my bed before lying down.

"Look, you never gave me a chance to explain myself yesterday. I know I've been a real dick the past few weeks, but I was only doing what I thought was necessary to keep you safe."

Taking a few deep breaths, I thought about what he had said. Sure he had been a complete ass but maybe he really had a good reason. I figured I might as well hear him out so I nodded my head before speaking. "Okay fine, I'll listen to what you have to say. But not over the phone. Why don't you come over when you can and we'll talk."

Jacob gave a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" I asked, my brows coming together in confusion.

"Look out your window."

Still confused, I got up from my bed and did as he said. Looking out, I saw him standing a few feet from the house with his phone held to his ear. As soon as he saw me, his entire face lit up and he gave a small wave. A quick smile sprang to my face for a moment before I let it go slack. Opening the window, I stuck my head out and called down to him. "Are you stalking me now or something?"

"I wouldn't call it stalking so much as checking to make sure you're okay," Jacob answered into the mouthpiece of his cell though I could hear him just fine.

"I'll meet you at the door then, I guess," I said into my own mouthpiece before realizing that it was kind of pointless. Turning off my phone I turned and threw it onto my phone before turning back to Jacob who was yelling up to me.

"Don't worry about that. Just watch out."

I gave him a confused look, watching as he backed up a few steps before taking off towards the house. My eyes went wide as I took a step back so that he could come in through the window. I wasn't sure how he did it exactly, but soon he was crawling in through the window.

"You know, it was really no problem, I could have just met you at the door," I said slowly.

"Yeah, but that's more fun."

"Show off," I muttered, shaking my head slightly before taking a seat at the foot of my bed. "Alright, so explain to me why you thought it was such as good idea to ignore then break up with me?

I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted a brow at him. I really didn't want to beat around the bush. Him being in my room was filling me with such a happiness that it was hard not to cross the room, throw my arms around him, and forgive him for everything. I needed to hold onto the small shred of anger still burning in the pit of my stomach.

Jacob looked at me sadly for a moment before sighing. He started from the beginning; the night we had all gone to the movies and I had a bitch fit. He told me that he changed into a wolf for the first time that night just minutes after arriving home. Apparently Billy had called Sam and he was the one who helped him through everything. While Bella and I had been trying to get a hold of him, he had been spending the week trying to get the hang of everything. When Friday came around, Sam gave him the order preventing him from telling Bella or me about the whole wolf thing.

"But that doesn't explain why you broke up with me," I said, interrupting. "Sam didn't order you to do that."

"No, he didn't order me to break up with you but I thought it was the only way to keep you safe at the time." Jacob then told me exactly how Emily had gotten the scars that marked her pretty face. I think I felt worse for Sam, to be reminded every time he looked at her that he had almost killed the love of his life. Although I didn't like it I was beginning to understand why Jacob had done what he had.

"But, I would be lying if I said that was the only reason why I broke up with you," Jacob continued, his head lowering to look at his feet.

"What's the other reason?" I asked.

Jacob gave a heavy sigh before speaking. "I was selfish. You should know that us wolves have this thing called imprinting. It like, when you meet eyes with that one person that is meant for you and gravity moves suddenly so it's not the earth holding you here anymore, it's her. We become whatever our imprint needs be it a protector, a lover, or a friend."

I lowered my head, having a feeling that I knew where he was going with that. He had broken up with me because he had found his imprint or whatever and didn't want me in the way. The sound of footsteps met my ear and soon Jacob was kneeling in front of me. His large hand came under my chin, lifting it so that I was looking him in the eyes.

"I broke up with you because I was afraid I wouldn't imprint on you."

It took a moment for my brain to register what he had just said. "What?"

"I really care about you, Alex. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if I looked at you and nothing happened. That's why I avoided you. I couldn't face the possibility that I might end up not loving you anymore."

"What?" I repeated, anger now flowing through me. Getting up, I pushed passed Jacob and walked across the room before turning to face him once more, a hand on my head. "You put me through the worst week of my life before ripping out my heart just because you didn't want to hurt me!?" My voice rose slightly.

"I know, it was stupid-"

"You're damn right it was stupid. You can't just do that and then expect me to accept it! So who is this girl you've imprinted on then because I'm sure you would still be ignoring me if it hadn't happened." I placed my hands on my hips and waited for him to say the name of the girl who was replacing me.

"That's just it, there isn't anyone else. A few days ago in Bella's room, right before I left, I imprinted on_ you_. I knew you were the one for me and now this just proves it." He looked so happy.

I'll admit that as soon as he said that, butterflies started to flutter in my stomach, but that didn't stop the fire in me. "So you're telling me you broke up with me for nothing? I went through hell week for _nothing_! You are such an ASS JACOB BLACK!"

Crossing the room quickly, I stood in front of him and started hitting him in the chest. My pale skin met his warm copper skin a few times before his large hands grabbed me and pulled me to him. My arms wrapped around his waist and held on tight.

"So does this mean you forgive me?" Jacob asked after a while, breaking the silence that had fallen over us.

I looked up at him, a playful glare on my face. "I forgive you, but," I said quickly to keep him from celebrating just yet. "That doesn't mean everything is forgotten. I'm going to need some time to figure everything else. I mean, you can't tell someone that you ignored them because you were afraid you would meet someone else and not love them anymore." Jacob's eyes went wide causing me to chuckle. "That's right, I heard you say love."

"Take all the time you need to think things over," Jacob told me, bending down to kiss my forehead. "I'll be here for you when you're ready."

* * *

Authors Note:: There you go guys, Alex telling Jacob off part two. It's so much fun having Alex interrupt Jacob. Even though Alex has forgiven him, Jacob is going to have to do some butt kissing still if he wants to get back to where they were before. Thanks so much for the nine reviews last chapter, glade you guys liked it even though it was filler. I would have loved posting this early for you but stupid work, it always gets in the way. That and I had a little trouble figuring out how exactly I wanted everything to go seeing as we are getting close to the end of this story. There you go, no Bella in this chapter, just Alex and Jacob. :) There will be more chapters with just the two of them after the Cullen's return. Speaking of returns, Alice makes a reappearance in the chapter after next. Thanks everyone else who has followed, favorited, or is just reading along with this story! You are all awesome! :)


	20. Something Stupid

**Chapter Twenty: Something Stupid**

That night Jacob and I returned to our old habit of talking to each other before bed. The call wasn't nearly as long as they used to be, probably only twenty minutes, but that was only because Sam was calling him and he had to go. I was fine with it though, just happy that we were able to fall back into our old routine. It would probably be a while until things went completely back to normal, but this was a nice start.

When morning came, I was greeted by the sun shining through the window and a message from Jake saying that Bella and I were supposed to come over to Emily's at noon for lunch. Bella was a little confused when I told her that Jacob had invited her to lunch seeing as I was supposedly mad at him so I quickly filled her in on everything that had happened yesterday. Well, everything except for the whole imprinting thing. I decided that I would keep that my little secret for now.

After getting dressed quickly in a gray shirt and a pair of leggings, I grabbed my now trusty scarf and headed out of the house with Bella. It took us about a half hour to get to Emily's and although we had left a little early we were still the last ones to show up. The boys were all seated around Emily's table, joking and laughing with one another like a family. Jacob smiled widely when we walked through the door and quickly got up to come greet me. There was a slight awkward moment when he went in for a kiss and I pulled away (the other boys laughed) but I did hug him before Bella and I followed him over to the table. He ended up sitting in the middle with Embry on the other side of Bella and Paul on my other side.

"Lunch is served!" Emily announced happily, placing the last plate of sandwiches on the table.

There was so much food that I could hardly believe that the table didn't buckle under the weight. A large mixing bowl sat in the center holding enough lettuce to feed, like, a hundred rabbits, two different plates were stalked tall with different subs and sandwiches, and two bags of chips sat on each end of the table. But that wasn't it; there was also different plates of meat and cheese, a plate with a small assortment of vegetables, and even a bowl of mixed fruits.

Emily wasn't even seated before the boys were reaching across the table, grabbing about two or three sandwiches each as well as piling handfuls of chips onto their plates. I laughed at the sight, finding it amusing as Jared and Embry fought over who got the sub they had both reached for at the same time.

"Boys! No fighting at the table! And be sure to get some fruits and vegetables too," Emily said from her seat next to Sam, acting very much like a mother speaking to two of her children.

"Thank you," I muttered, grabbing a turkey sandwich from Paul's plate. Honestly, I felt ten times safer stealing food from the most temperamental wolf of the pack then risking the loss of an arm-wrangling the chips from Jared.

"I don't think so," Paul said, making a grab for the stolen sandwich.

I turned my body quickly, keeping the sandwich safe while continuing to look at him. "But I'm so cute. Can't I just have this sandwich, please?" I asked sweetly, fluttering my eyelashes at him.

"You are cute," Paul started, a smirk stretching across his face as he slowly leaned forward. Thinking I won, I smiled and turned back around only to have him take the sandwich from my hands. "But I'm hungry so I'll be taking that back."

My mouth fell open and a sad expression appeared on my face. Instead of giving in, Paul just laughed at me before looking over my head at Jacob.

"Hey Jake, keep a better eye on your imprint, she's trying to steal food."

Turning around, I looked up to see a not so happy expression on Jacob's face. As soon as he turned away from Paul and instead meet eyes with me though the expression softened.

"Here, you can have one of mine," he said, pushing his plate closer to me so that I could pick one of the two that sat there. I smiled at him, picking the sub.

"Thanks, Jake, that's why you're my favorite." Pushing myself up quickly, I placed a quick kiss on his warm cheek before looking over my shoulder and sticking my tongue out at Paul.

For the next five minutes, Jacob and I put all our attention on one another. Occasionally, we would break in our conversation so that Jake could brave the tangle of arms that always seemed to be stretching across table to grab something, either for himself or me. It was almost by chance that I heard Jared's comment about last night. Apparently they were talking about what they had been up to and it involved a red haired vampire.

"Wait, Victoria is here?" Bella asked weakly. Leaning forward and around Jacob, I could see that her eyes were wide.

"Is that her name?" Paul asked, "Not that it really matters, she's going down like her filthy leech mate."

"Her mate? You mean Laurent?" As I spoke his name, a hand slowly crept up to stroke the still tender skin beneath my scarf. The marks he had left were still there, but slowly turning a yellow green around the edges. Hopefully in a few days they would fade enough for me to place makeup on so I didn't have to wear scarves all the time around the house.

Sam nodded his head to answer my question before turning to Bella. "We've been hunting the redhead for a few days now. Last night we chased her up the Canadian boarder yet she still returns. It's like she's after something, we just don't know what."

"I'm telling you, she's just pissed about losing her mate," Jared said, taking a huge bite of sandwich before adding chips as well.

"Jared's right. The only reason she's running away is because she's scared of us," Embry agreed.

Bella shook her head. "She is trying to avenge her mate, but that wasn't Laurent. He was just spying for her. The thing she wants is me."

Jared made a choking sound while everyone froze. Jacob slid a protective arm around my shoulders while the others looked at my sister with similar surprised expressions. Bella quickly explained how the Cullen's had killed James last year before sinking deep into her chair.

"Great, then we have bait. We should have the redhead by tonight," Jared said before turning back to his food.

Lightning quick, Jacob grabbed a fist full of chips and threw them at him. "We are not using Bella as bait," he said sternly, pulling me closer to him.

I knew right away that he was thinking of me. The only thing I didn't know was if it was because he knew that if Bella ended up getting hurt I would be devastated or if there was the possibly that I could get hurt because I was Bella's sister. Either way, he was not going to let it happen.

Sam wasn't going to let it happen either. Instead he made plans for how they could better try and catch Victoria. They would split up into two groups. The first group would leave a few holes open and see if she capitalized on it. If she did, then the second group would cut her off on her way to Bella and hopefully they would catch her in a wolf sandwich.

* * *

Apparently Victoria was as smart as Laurent had once warned us about. The couple of times I was able to talk to Jacob over the next few days he would tell me how she would fall for the trap yet still find a way to evade capture. It seemed to be taking up a lot of their time because by Friday I could hear the tiredness in his voice. I told him that he needed to sleep more, but he just replied that he wouldn't be able to sleep any better until he knew that I was safe.

When Saturday came around, Charlie decided he was going to get another hunting party together to look for the large wolves. Harry was the first to show up and he sat with us while we waited for the others to arrive.

"Maybe they've moved on dad. You've been looking for a week and have found nothing," I said as we sat down in the living room. Now that I knew that Victoria was out there and that Jacob and the others were the wolves, I did not want Charlie walking around the woods. Every time I thought about it I got this bad feeling in my stomach and I knew it was only a matter of time before someone I cared about got hurt.

"Alex, I can't stop until I know for sure that they are gone," Charlie said for what must have been the tenth time.

"Don't worry, Alex. I'll keep him safe," Harry assured, winking at me when Charlie turned to put on his sheriffs jacket. I nodded my head, knowing that he wasn't talking about Dad but rather Jacob.

When Charlie turned back around and shouldered his gun, I shook my head before walking out of the kitchen and into the living room. It sucked keeping secrets. All I wanted was to tell Charlie that he didn't have to worry about the wolves because they were on our side, but knew that if I did he would just think I was crazy or something. And there was no way that I could tell Jacob or Sam to stay out of the woods because then Victoria would get through and kill Bella as well as everyone else that stood in her way. It was all too much.

From the couch, I could hear Charlie call out a farewell before closing the door behind him. I said nothing, just laid down on my back and brought my arm up to cover my eyes. I wished that it were a crappy, rainy day so that Charlie couldn't go out.

I was just about to drift off to sleep when footsteps coming down the stairs met my ears. Lifting my head, I saw Bella moving softly into the kitchen. I brushed it off at first, figuring she was just getting something to eat. But then I heard her picking up the truck keys and jumped to my feet.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked, my bare arms crossed over my chest.

She started out trying to lie to me, but quickly gave up when I gave her a look. With a sigh she said, "I can't sit around here doing nothing, Alex. It's starting to happen again, I'm going bad."

Unfolding my arms, I took a few steps towards her. "Bella, you have to tell me these things sooner so that I can help!"

"I'm sorry, Alex," Bella muttered, ignoring what I had just said. "I've got to see him."

Grabbing the keys, she exited the house and started towards the truck. I watched her go, confused, before shaking my head and moving after her. I jumped into the passenger seat just as she was starting the truck. She ignored me as she backed out of the driveway and headed down the road.

"Where are we going, Bella? Who do you need to see?"

There was no answer. For the next ten minutes, I tried to talk her out of whatever she was going to do. But she continued not to listen. Instead, her eyes just looked straight ahead as she drove down the road. After a while, I looked out the window and saw where we were heading.

"Bella, if you're going to see Jacob he won't be there. He's out patrolling with the others, remember." Still no answer. When we arrived at La Push though, she didn't head over to Jacob's or even Emily's house. Instead, she turned off onto the road we had taken to get to where they had tested out their motorcycles for the first time. "Where are you going?"

After driving for another five minutes, she suddenly parked the truck and got out. I got out as well and quickly wrapped my arms around my body. The wind out here by the cliffs was strong, blowing the cold air from the ocean around. Because I had been in a hurry to follow Bella, I hadn't grabbed a jacket and was now stuck with nothing but my tank top and jeans.

I realized now what she was doing and tried to stop her. "Bella, this is crazy. We should go home."

For the first time, she acknowledged me. She shook her head before heading off into the woods.

"But it's dangerous, Bella," I pressed, following after her.

"You've done it. And Jacob says it's a rush. I need a rush."

"Bella, I didn't jump from this high up. And it is a rush, but you could get seriously hurt. Let's just go back home and then maybe some other time Jacob can take us when it's not so windy."

"No, I have to see him," Bella said once more, pushing herself faster.

"Who is 'him'?" I called after her. I knew now that she wasn't talking about Jacob, but couldn't figure out whom else she could possibly be talking about. Sighing, I followed after her. No matter how cold it was; I had to make sure she didn't kill herself by doing something stupid. At least if I was there I would be able to call for help.

* * *

Authors Note:: With each chapter I post I am completely blown about by how amazing my reviewers are! Now that Alice is back there really isn't a need for Bella to be jealous, she'll be too busy worrying and thinking about Edward now. Yup, it's official, he imprinted on her! I can't describe how happy it makes me that you like Alex so much! I'm looking forward to Eclipse. Not sure about Renesmee and Alex yet... I'm sure it will be interesting. Now you got to see Alex react to Bella being an idiot and her reaction to Alice will be next chapter. She might have been a bit quick to forgive him, but it's just who she is. She's just way to nice of a person but if she doesn't toughen up it may just bite her in the ass. Alex still really likes Jacob, even if he treated her really bad. She's not going to string along someone just to make him jealous. That doesn't mean she's not going to make things hard for him though. Hopefully I won't make him to clingy, please let me know if Jacob ever comes off that way. He will be way over protective though but that doesn't mean Alex is going to let that stop her. Thanks everyone else for following, favoriting, or just reading this story. I love you all! :)


	21. The Return of Alice

**Chapter Twenty-One: The Return of Alice **

By the time we made it to the cliff, I felt like my arms were going to fall off. I'm serious. The fine hairs that covered the tops of them were standing straight up, I had goosebumps all over, and they were bright red from the combined efforts of the wind and me rubbing them too keep the blood flowing.

Bella walked over to the edge and I followed closely behind before standing next to her. Looking down over the edge, the water seemed like an angry gray mass. Every so often it would rear up and crash loudly against the rocks of the cliffs. I turned to face my crazy sister.

"Are you seriously going to jump into that?" But she wasn't paying attention to me. Her head was turned slightly to the right, a faint smile on her face. I followed her gaze where I saw nothing but rocks and trees. "Hello? What are you looking at?"

"You wanted me to be human. Watch me," Bella muttered softly before unzipping her jacket and handing it to me.

"Who are you talking too?"

"You won't stay with me any other way," came Bella's answer.

I stood there, eyebrows raised. The day had finally come. My sister had completely lost her mind. I watched as her smile widen just before she took a step closer to the edge, flinging herself into the open air.

My scream mixed with hers as she plummeted down. I watched with wide eyes, praying that she wouldn't get hurt. It didn't seem like she had jumped that far out and I was afraid she would hit the rocks either on her way down or upon landing. But it seemed like my worries were for nothing as she splashed into the water and resurfaced seconds later. Even over the roar of the water I could hear her faint laugh.

But the peace didn't last long.

The fear I felt in my gut had only loosened for a moment before it was back in full force. A particularly large wave had formed and crashed over Bella, burying her under a wall of water. I couldn't see her anymore and panic ran through my veins like ice. Quickly, my eyes darted across the water, scanning for any sign of her. But there was nothing. No pale head forcing itself to the surface for air. No dark brown locks drifting just below the surface. Just red. Red like fire.

Wait. Red?

Lowering myself so that I was now on my stomach, I stuck my head over the edge of the cliff and squinted my eyes for a better look. It was faint, but I was almost positive that I had seen a stalk of bright red hair in the water. And there was only one person that had hair like that, and they weren't even a person. Victoria.

Scrambling away from the edge, I started looking around in the woods. I needed help. _Bella_ needed help. If Victoria was in the water that probably meant that she had been driven towards the water. And if she had been driven towards the water then that meant that the wolves _had_ to be nearby. Without hesitation, I took a deep breath of cold air before yelling as loud as I could.

"Jacob! Sam! Anybody! Help! Help!"

Turning back to the water, I searched once again for any sign of Bella. But there wasn't any. I could only assume that she was still under the surface. I couldn't see the bright red of Victoria's hair either and had no idea if that was a good or bad thing. I called out for Jacob or Sam once more before deciding that I couldn't wait any longer. Bella needed my help. Kicking off my shoes, I set Bella's jacket next to them before rising and moving towards the edge of the cliff.

It was a lot higher than what I had done before over the summer and the water was a lot scarier, but I knew that I had to do it. Bella needed help and right now I was the only one around. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before counting myself down.

"One…Two…Three…"

I was just bending my knees, about to spring myself into the open air when a pair of large hands clamped themselves over my upper arms and pulled me back.

"Alex, are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?" Came Jacob's concerned voice as he pulled my back to his chest. He was so warm and I couldn't help but turn around and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"You're freezing, where is your coat?" he asked as my cold flesh met his. "Alex, what's wrong? I heard you yelling. You about gave me a heart attack."

"I-I-I, Bella went cliff diving, but the water is too bad so she got swept under and I haven't seen her for a while now, but I did see Victoria, I'm sure of it. She's in the water, Jacob." Tears had started to fall from my eyes.

Gently but quickly, Jacob pushed me from his chest, his face serious as he looked down at me. "Bella is in the water?"

I found it difficult to form words so I just nodded my head. I watched as Jacob moved towards the cliff, looking down.

"I don't see her. Listen, Sam is on his way, wait here for him then meet me at the beach, I'll get Bella." Taking a few steps towards me, he placed a quick kiss to my forehead "I'll get her, I promise." And with that, he jumped over the edge.

I stood there, shivering for a few seconds before realizing that I had taken my shoes off and that my feet were now freezing. Bending down, I returned them to my feet before picking up Bella's jacket and pushing my arms through the sleeves. Sam arrived shortly after.

"Alex, where's Jacob?"

Wrapping my arms around myself, I started filling him in on what had happened. By the time I was done, he had moved over to the cliff and was looking down at the water.

"I don't see any signs of the red haired women, but it looks like Jacob's has found Bella."

I rushed to the edge of the cliff, eyes scanning the gray. Sam helped me out by pointing down at where Jacob was indeed swimming to shore with my sister. Grabbing his arm, I started to drag him back towards the woods and the path that would lead us towards the truck. Driving quickly, we finally made it to the beach where Jacob was leaning over Bella.

"Go to them. Tell Jacob I'll be at Harry's place," Sam said as I killed the engine to the truck. I gave him a confused look before getting out and running across the sand to Jacob and Bella.

"Oh my god!" I yelled as I slid to the ground next to my sister. Throwing my arms around her wet body, I held her close for a minute before letting go. "I never thought you would actually do it! My god, you really do have a death wish!"

"Sorry," Bella whispered weakly, trying to smile. "I just needed to see something."

"Well, next time it's not worth your life, crazy."

"Come on, we should get her into something dry. We can go to my house," Jacob said, helping Bella up.

"Okay. Sam said he was going back to Harry's." I told him, falling into step beside him. The was a small silence because I asked, "What's going on at Harry's?"

"Didn't Charlie call you?"

"No, I forgot to grab my phone before I ran after death wish Sally here," I said, giving my sister a pointed look. She just shrugged her shoulders weakly before shivering once more.

Jacob gave a heavy sigh. "Harry Clearwater had a heart attack. He didn't make it. Charlie and my dad are over with his family now."

A wave of sadness swelled within me as I thought of Harry. Poor, sweet, Harry who was one of Charlie's best friends. Harry who always promised to look after him. Who promised to look out for Jacob and the others because he knew their secret and wanted to protect them. I just couldn't believe that he was gone.

Getting into the truck, I drove us over to Jacob's house while Bella huddled next to him for warmth. When we got there, Jacob led us into the living room before disappearing for a moment with the promise of coming back with warm clothes. While he was gone, I sat Bella down on the couch and wrapped her in the blanket that hung over the back. She gave me a small smile before huddling down. Jacob returned shortly after, throwing a clean shirt and a pair of sweats over to Bella. He also threw me one of his sweatshirts.

"You need to warm up too, missy," he said as he came to sit down next to me in front of the couch. I rolled my eyes, I told him to cover his eyes before pulling off Bella's jacket and handing it back to her. I had warmed it up slightly, something that she would need. I took her wet clothes once she had pulled them off and folded them as best I could before setting them next to me. Once Bella had put on Jacob's clothes as well and her jacket, I told Jacob it was fine for him to uncover his eyes.

Everything was quiet for a while before it was broken by Bella's heavy, but peaceful breathing.

"You should probably get some sleep too. You look exhausted," I said, looking up at Jacob.

"No, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. The skin around your eyes is so dark I would think you were a vampire if I didn't know better," I teased.

Jacob sent a quick glare my way. "That's not funny."

"Come on, it was a little funny." Shifting myself into a more comfortable possession, I felt his arm wrap around me and I rested my head against his chest. "Thanks for saving Bella," I said quietly.

"No problem." His voice sounded heavy and before I knew it his slow breathing mixed with Bella's. Shifting once more, I raised myself enough to give him a kiss on the cheek before settling down and drifting to sleep as well.

* * *

I woke up hours later to the dark sky peaking through the windows. Stretching, my hand suddenly connected with something hard. A deep voice called out in pain shortly after and I turned around to see Jacob holding his nose.

"I'm so sorry," I managed to get out in between giggles. I don't know why, but I just found it funny.

"Yeah, I can see you're really broken up right now," Jacob muttered, pulling his hands away from his face.

He looked at me for a moment before moving towards me. I moved to get away, but only managed to lie on the ground away from him. He fixed that, though, shifting his position. I continued to laugh as he leaned over me, a fake angry look on his face. My laughing continued for a few seconds before it slowly faded away. I could feel the heat from Jacob's body through my clothes and the look he gave me turned my insides to butterflies. Slowly, he lowered his head down to kiss me. I waited, closing my eyes for a moment before turning my head at the last second. I wasn't ready for this yet. I knew he was sorry for lying and keeping secrets, but I need to work my way back to trusting him again.

"I'm sorry," Jacob breathed, lifting his head.

"I'm just not ready yet," I said sadly, looking up at him.

He gave a sigh before getting off of me, offering a hand to help me up. "I should probably get you guys back home."

I nodded my head before turning to wake Bella up. She seemed a bit groggy, but I helped her out to the truck and got her all buckled up before getting into the passenger seat. Jacob got behind the wheel and drove us home. The trip was spent mostly in silence until Jacob pulled up into the driveway. Bella thanked him for saving her and I was just opening the door when Jacob freaked out. Reaching across Bella and me, he grabbed the door and pulled it shut.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Vampire."

"How do you know?" Bella asked, her face white and eyes wide.

"I can smell it. Hang on, I'll get you guys out of here." Reversing the truck, he was just about to take off when Bella stopped him.

"That's Carlisle's car," she muttered, pointing through the front windshield at the sleek black car parked in the shadows. "They're back!"

Before Jacob could stop her, she crawled over me, opened the door, and took off towards the house. Jacob groaned in frustration before getting out and running after her.

"It's a trick. Bella you've got to come with me."

"Bella, maybe you should listen to Jacob," I said, getting out of the truck as well.

I didn't know what I was feeling. It had been so long since the Cullen's had left. Why would they randomly show up now? Part of me didn't want it to be them, so that they didn't have to run the risk of getting hurt again. But another part of me wished it were one of them and not Victoria.

Jacob grabbed Bella's arm, holding her in place, but she pulled it away. "Jake, please, I have to go in."

"Don't you get it, Bella? If a Cullen is back then this is their territory. The Treaty says we can only defend our own lands. I can't protect you if you go in there."

"I'm sorry, but I have to." Without looking back, she walked up the front of the stairs and into the dark house.

Jacob let out a loud growl and stalked back to the truck, slamming the door closed in an attempt to release some of his anger. I followed close behind, laying a hand on his back.

"Jacob, you have to calm down."

Beneath my hand, I could feel Jacob's chest rise and fall as he took deep breaths of air. Slowly, he turned around to face me. "Why does your sister keep throwing herself into situations that could get her killed?" he asked, his teeth clenched so tight I almost thought they would shatter.

"I have no idea. I swear I'm going to have white hair before my twenty because of her," I tried to joke, but a slight pain filled my chest. "I have to make sure she's okay."

"You can't seriously be telling me that you're going to go in there too," Jacob growled, his face twisted in anger and fear.

I knew that me putting myself in danger was not going to make things any easier for him but also knew that I couldn't just abandon my sister.

Holding up my hands, I gave him the calmest look I could. "I have to check on her. But I don't have to go alone. You can come with me."

"I told you, I can't protect you because of the Treaty."

"You can't protect me if a Cullen's here. If it really is one of them, than we should be fine. But if it's Victoria, you have a duty to kill that bitch."

I watched as he thought it over for a second before a smirk slowly pulled at his lips. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Pulling me close, he set his face before leading the way up towards the house and the vampire that waited inside. As we got closer, I realized now that it was one of the Cullen's I hoped to see on the other side. I didn't want to think about the destruction that would happen if it were Victoria waiting for us.

* * *

Authors Note:: Mah, don't really like this chapter. But that doesn't really matter because we are almost finished with this story! Yay! Anyway, thanks so much for the amazing reviews everyone! Especially **Altair.K** for being number 200. One of my stories has over 200 reviews, I just can't believe it! I have a bit of an idea for the whole Renesme thing. It will probably end up being a poll but not for a while yet. Lord help Edward when Alex see's him again. She blames him for everything so it will not be a pretty sight. Thank you very much, I'm glade you like it and that the characters aren't totally OOC. I try to keep them as in character as possible. I'm glad you all enjoyed the the little Lunch at Emily's scene, that was a lot of fun to write. I'm just going to say it now, Alex will not be going with to save Edward, like you said, it wouldn't be very unrealistic. As for Alex and Alice, Alex likes her but is way closer with Emmett and Jasper. They will be the one's she is freaking out at for leaving while trying to hug them to death because she missed them. Thank you so much to everyone else who has favorited, followed, or is just reading this story! You guys are all awesome as well! :)


	22. Staying Behind

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Staying Behind **

"No signs of a struggle," I whisper quietly as we entered the house. "That's good."

I knew that if it had been a trick and it was Victoria waiting for Bella than my sister wouldn't have stood much of a chance. But I would have figured that there would have been at least some sign that something had happened to her so the fact that everything looked like it always did was a bit of a relief.

Jacob gave me a pointed look that said 'be quiet' before walking further into the house. I followed closely behind. Being the protective wolf that he was, Jacob stretched out a hand behind him to help shield me as well as keep me close. If someone snuck up behind us and tried to grab me, he would know right away. The faint sound of voices could be heard coming from the living room so we made our way over there, moving as carefully as possible so as not to make a sound.

"…God awful wet dog smell?"

"That's probably me," Bella's voice answered, followed by the creak of the couch. In my mind, I pictured her shifting uncomfortably. "Or, uh, it's Jacob."

"Jacob who?" asked the second voice. It had been months since I last heard it, but I recognized it as Alice's. She really was back.

"Jacob's kind of a werewolf."

"Bella, werewolves are not good company to keep." Alice sounded angry.

Before I knew what was happening, Jacob was stepping out of the hall and stepping into the living room. He didn't look happy as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Alice.

"Speak for yourself."

Feeling slightly awkward, I stepped out from the hallway and into the living room as well. "Hey, Alice," I said weakly, giving a slight wave. She gave me a surprised look for a moment before smiling.

Bella turned to Jacob, giving him a confused look. He locked eyes with her for a moment before nodding his head at me. "She wanted to make sure you were safe. So did I."

"I thought you said you couldn't protect me here," Bella said, a slight smug tone to her voice.

"Yeah, well I brought a few important details to his attention regarding that," I told her.

Bella turned to look at me while Alice reminded us all of her presence. "Well, I'm not going to hurt her. Or Alex for that matter."

"Of course you aren't, you're just a harmless little Cullen," Jacob commented harshly. I smacked him in the chest in an effort to get him to tone it down, but he didn't get the hint. "I was talking about the other bloodsucker that's been trying to get at Bella because of you. And if she's after Bella that puts Lexi in danger by association."

A perplexed expression tugged on Alice's perfect face as she turned to Bella. "Victoria?"

Looking down at her hands, Bella nodded her head. "Yeah, uh, Victoria's been around."

"But I didn't see her." Alice seemed more confused than ever. "I didn't see you get pulled out of the water either. Or Alex actually land in the water-"

"Wait me? But I didn't even jump." Now I was confused.

But Alice continued like I hadn't even spoken. "I can't see past you and your pack of mutts." Alice's tone was heavy with accusation and acid. The look she gave Jacob was equivalent to one that someone might make if they were facing their worst enemy.

Jacob took a step towards her, his glare still in place. "_Don't_ get me upset," he warned, shaking his head. "Things will get very messy if I get angry."

"Yeah, you'll hulk out. Just calm down," I instructed, getting between him and Alice. To keep him from getting any closer, I placed my hands on his chest and pushed back slightly. He seemed to relax a bit at my touch but didn't break eye contact with Alice over my head.

"Alice, do you mind if I talk to Jacob for a second?" Bella asked, pushing up from the couch.

There was a few seconds pause as Alice continued to look at Jacob before she turned away to face my sister. With a slight incline of her head, she turned to look one last time at Jacob before pushing past him and heading towards the back door.

"I'll be back after you've put the dog out," she said pointedly before exiting the house.

"Well that was kinda rude," I muttered under my breath. I really liked Alice, but that seemed a bit unnecessary. I guess I was just a little touchy seeing as I was dating said 'dog'.

Jacob continued to glare at the door before turning to look at Bella who had come to stand next to us. After taking a deep breath he asked, "Is he…"

He didn't even have to finish, we all knew who he was talking about. Jacob got his answer in the form of Bella's face falling. "Good," I muttered quietly, causing Bella to look at me shocked. I just raised a shoulder, brushing he look off.

I was happy Edward wasn't here, if he was, I think it would take more than just Jacob or Bella to keep me from kicking his sparkly vampire ass.

"How many Cullens are here and how long are they staying?" Jacob asked.

Bella's expression changed to one of annoyance as she picked up a mug from the coffee table and headed into the kitchen. "Its just Alice and she can stay as long as she likes."

I followed close behind her with Jacob right behind me. "He was just asking a question, Bella. No need to get all angry."

"I'm not angry," she said quickly as she placed the mug in the sink.

"Then are the rest coming back?"

I watched as Bella's back stiffened and her hands clenched the sides of the counter. "Not that I know of. Now if that's in then I think you better go and run back to Sam," she snapped.

"Bella!"

"What?" She asked, turning around to face me.

"Look, just because you're mad that Edward didn't tag along with Alice doesn't mean you have to snap at us. Jacob is just trying to help," I said sternly. I didn't understand why she had to take out her anger on us. I guess it was better than her locking herself in her room for months and regressing back into a zombie, but still.

"I'm not mad about him not being here. I just think Jacob can lay off the third degree," Bella countered.

"He isn't doing anything other than trying to help you. Which is a lot more than Edward's done. He left you remember? Left you alone in the dark and rain. Why? Because he didn't _want _you anymore."

Bella looked at me like I had just slapped her. Silence fell heavy in the kitchen as Bella and I looked at one another. I waited for her to say something, but she just stood there, unmoving. I wondered if she was thinking about how she had been left in the woods. Part of me hoped she did so that she could wake up and see all the pain that Edward had put her through. One night a few weeks ago she opened up and told me everything that had happened that night, everything he had said. It had been a sad night; there were lots of tears on her part. But I was there for her, holding her and comforting her like the good sister I was. I felt like shit throwing it back in her face now, but I was getting angry and not thinking about everything I was saying.

The phone rang suddenly, loud and shrill. It cut through the silence and caused Bella to jump. Being closest to it, Jacob answered.

"Swan residence." There was a pause as the person on the other end talked. "He's not here right now, he's arranging a funeral," Jacob said after a few seconds, his voice cold. Removing the phone from his ear, he hung it back up with a bit more force than was necessary.

"Who was that?" Bella asked, turning away from me.

Jacob just shook his head and glared while Bella continued to ask who had been on the phone. Each time she asked the question her voice became more desperate. Jacob took a couple of steps back, his whole body shaking. After seeing Paul phase earlier this week, I recognized the signs and realized what was about to happen.

"Bella, back off," I said, getting in between the two and turning my back on my sister. "Jacob. Jake, calm down."

"Lexi…" Jacob muttered in a warning tone.

"Just take deep breaths. It'll be okay."

Jacob locked eyes with me and slowly started to stop shaking as he did what I instructed. The shaking was almost gone when it suddenly started again with full force as Jacob took his eyes off of me and looked at something behind me. Turning around I saw that it was Alice. A panicked look marked her beautiful face as she turned to Bella.

"Alice, what's wrong?" My sister asked, moving to her side quickly.

"It's Edward. He thinks you're dead. Rosalie told him why I came here."

Fear flashed across my sister's face as she whipped her head around to look at Jacob. "That was him on the phone wasn't it? What didn't you let me speak to him!"

"Because he didn't ask for you," Jacob snapped.

"I don't care!" Bella yelled at his face, her whole body trembling. She looked like she was about to hit him when Alice grabbed hold of her and pulled her away.

"Bella," she said urgently, "He's going to Italy…to the Volturi…He wants to die too."

Bella's face turned white as a sheet. It was lucky Alice was holding on to her or I was sure that she would have fallen. After blinking a couple of times, she pulled away from Alice and headed towards the stairs. "We have to stop him," she cried over her shoulder.

She returned not even a minute later, changed out of Jacob's burrowed clothes with a small bag over her shoulder. Alice moved quickly through the house, the three of us following close behind. As soon as we walked out the front door, Alice used her speed to get into the car, starting it while the rest of us made our way across the lawn.

"He left you, Bella. Remember? Lexi just said that he didn't want you anymore," Jacob said in the effort to keep Bella from going.

Bella hunched her shoulders but didn't stop walking. "Yeah, but I still love him and I'm not gonna let him kill himself out of guilt."

"What about your dad?"

"I'm eighteen. I'm legally free to go." Opening the passenger door, she got into the seat and buckled up before leaning forward and looking out Alice's open window. "Alex, aren't you coming."

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around my upper body. "Not this time Bella. He's going to kill himself because he's lost you. He doesn't care about me."

"That's not true, Alex," Alice told me with sadness in her yellow eyes. "I thought you had jumped off the cliff after Bella. He think's you're dead as well."

"But that doesn't change anything, does it? When he left I got nothing. Not a single goodbye. I was just the extra, the one left to watch as my sister fell apart."

I could feel tears start to form in my eyes but I tried to hold them back. My voice gave me away though as I continued. "I'm so sorry, Bella. But I just can't. I can't leave dad again. Not after what just happened."

Bella looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry," she whispered before Alice stepped on the gas, sending the sleek black car speeding down the street.

I let the tears fall now. Jacob came up behind me and carefully wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to his warm chest. I buried my face into the soft material of his shirt. I let him hold me for a few minutes before I pulled away.

"We should get down to La Push. You should tell Sam about Alice coming back and I need to be with Charlie," I said, wiping the tears from my face.

Saying nothing, Jacob put an arm around my shoulder before leading me over to the truck. I got in on the drivers side and moved over just enough so that he would get in as well before cuddling up next to him. He had left the keys in the ignition so it wasn't hard for him to start the truck and head off towards La Push.

* * *

Authors Note:: I have mixed feelings about this chapter. Some of it I really like and some of it I really hate. Hopefully next chapter will be better. It will have the vote and Alex reuniting with the other Cullen's as well as her yelling at Edward. Thanks so much for all the reviews last chapter. The fall out has began. Haha, it will be really funny to see how both sides deal with the other. I can totally see Emmett and Jasper going all older brother when they find out. Most of the fun will come when both sides as being trained to fight the newborn army. So glad you are liking Alex and Jacob. The break in their relationship has already started. I'm so looking forward to Alex yelling at Edward. I think it will be a bunch of fun. Well, not for Edward. Thanks everyone else who has followed, favorited, or is just reading this story. You guys are awesome as well! :)


	23. The Vote

**Chapter Twenty-Three: The Vote**

Going back to school Monday after break was awkward because Bella wasn't with me. At lunch I had to answer countless of questions from our friends who wondered where she was. I tried to keep my answers as vague as possible, saying that something came up and she had to deal with it because I knew none of them would understand if I told them she was off helping Edward. There would just be a million more questions and I really did not want to deal with that. Monday was also really boring because Leslie wasn't there. I had felt bad that I hadn't talked to her at all over break and was planning on making it up to her in class only to have her not show up. I didn't worry too much though as I knew she was up in the cities visiting her brother in college with her mom. I figured they had just extended their trip and that she would be back soon.

Wednesday was sad because it was the day of Harry's funeral. I didn't go to school even though the service wasn't until later that afternoon. Charlie had taken off of work and I wasn't going to have him sit around at home all by himself. I knew that later today was going to be really hard for him so I tried to do as much as I could for him. Getting up early, I made him breakfast than sat in the living room with him where we watched some action movie that was playing on TV. When the time came to go to the funeral, I stayed by his side the entire time.

When we got home, it was late. I still homework I had to do so with a comforting hug, I left Charlie in the living room and made my way upstairs. I don't know what happened, but soon the sound of Charlie yelling met my ears.

"Just give her to me and get out of my house!"

"Sir, I'm just going to take her upstairs and then I'll leave." A glare hardened on my face as the smooth voice of Edward Cullen flittered up to my room.

A faint shuffling followed the voices before the soft creak of the stairs. Leaning against my doorframe, my eyes followed him as he reached the top of the stairs and entered Bella's room. There was a slight silence before he exited and quickly made his way downstairs.

I knew the instant he made it downstairs because the sound of Charlie's yelling started up again. Now that Bella was out of his arms, dad's threats became more intense. I heard him mention his gun, throwing him jail and ending with, "I never want to see you step foot through my door again!"

The last thing I heard was the slam of a door and the stomp of Charlie's feet as he crossed back into the living room. Detaching myself from my doorframe, I crossed the small distance between Bella's room and mine, easing open the door and peaking my head inside. She rested in her bed, her eyes closed peacefully without any form of nightmares troubling her. I backed out slowly, glad that she was back safe.

* * *

Bella really must have gone through something because she slept all through the night and still refused to wake up the next morning. I tried for about five minutes, but nothing worked so I just went off to school by myself. She must have been feeling better later though because I got a call from her as I was walking to the truck after school.

"Alex, where are you?"

"Just leaving school which is where you should have been," I said pointedly, opening the door to the truck and hopping it.

I heard her sigh through the phone before speaking. "I'll be back tomorrow-"

"Fat lot of good that's going to do, its Friday, you might as well skip that too," I continued to tease.

"Alex, will you just listen to me," Bella snapped. I smiled slightly at the thought of having annoyed my sister. Served her right for leaving Charlie again and missing school. "I need you to come over to the Cullen house. It's important."

Now it was my turn to sigh. "I'll be there soon."

Putting the keys into the ignition, I start the truck before pulling out of my parking spot and heading towards the Cullen's house. After not visiting for months, I found it hard to remember where the turn off was. I had to drive really slowly for about half a mile but I was able to find it. It felt weird driving down the familiar path although it had been a long time since I'd last drove down it. It felt like yesterday.

Bella and Edward stood outside, waiting for me. Getting out of the truck, I crossed my arms over my chest and just stood there, glaring up at the pretty vampire with bronze hair.

"Well if it isn't the _fucking_ asshole that left my sister in the woods," I said in a fake cheery tone. "Man, long time no see. You probably don't remember me but I'm Alex. You know, Bella's sister."

"I know who you are, Alex," Edward said calmly, his face expressionless.

I raised my eyebrows in shock. "Really? Because you didn't come say goodbye to me before you left. I didn't get some half assed excuse like my sister did. No, I was left with nothing but a heart broken sister who turned into a zombie for three months."

"Alex!" Bella hissed in warning. "I've forgiven him and that's all that matters. Now can you come inside so we can-"

"No!" I shouted, interrupting her. "Dad had his go at this prick and now it's my turn! You might have forgiven him, but I haven't. I _won't._" Closing the distance between us, I climbed the stairs so that I was standing in front of Edward. "I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you for what you did to my sister."

"Alex, you should know that I only left because I thought it was best for Bella, for you. I wanted you both safe."

"Yeah, well that's some _bullshit_ right there. I know for a _fact_ that you didn't do _anything_ for me. You have, and always, will put Bella first because you 'love her'. Well, you know what, that's fine. I can deal with that. Hell, I can even respect that. But don't you _dare_ stand there and tell me that you were looking out for me as well. If you _care_ about someone, you at least say goodbye before you walk out of that someone's life. You don't leave them in the dark to worry about their sister that went missing hours after talking to you."

I could feel my body getting hot. My arms fell to my sides where I grabbed the bottom of my shirt, holding tight to keep myself from hitting Edward. Although I really wanted too, I knew it wouldn't do anything. The dude was practically stone and I would only end up hurting myself. No, I had to keep using my words. I had months to sit on all these feelings and now it felt good to let them all out.

"I was there when James decided to go after Bella. I was there with her in the hotel room worrying about your family. I care about them, okay. So it felt that a fucking slap in the face when none of them came to say goodbye to me, that I got nothing. Was that your idea too? Did you keep them away because you thought it would be 'better' for Bella and me? Because, you know, you care _soooo_ much about me too apparently."

"Yeah, you tell him, Al!" A familiar voice encouraged me. I felt my heart stop for a minute as I suddenly leaned around Edward to see Emmett standing in front of the door.

A wide smile sprang to my face as I completely stepped around Edward, the stupid asshat quickly forgotten, and practically ran to Emmett. He opened his arms wide, a loud boom of laughter escaping from his mouth. As soon as I cleared the short distance between us he picked me up in his large arms and started swinging me around.

"God I've missed you," he said as he sat me down.

"I've missed you too." I smiled up at him before reaching up and slapping him across the face.

My hand killed as I returned it to my side, but I pushed the feeling away as I glared up at him. I knew my actions hadn't hurt him, but I could tell from the look on his face that it had surprised him.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked, looking down at me confused as well as with a little bit of anger.

"For leaving without saying goodbye. Do you not see yourself? You're huge! Even if he told you not to come and say goodbye you should have been able to get past him ya dick."

Emmett seemed to think it over for a moment before shaking his head, "You still don't have to hit me."

I just stuck my tongue out at him.

"Yes, hello. Can we get to that big important reason why we're here?" Bella asked suddenly, a slightly irritated tone in her voice.

"Sure, whatever. But I still have more yelling in me," I said before grabbing Emmett's arm and pulling him into the house. Bella and Edward followed quickly behind.

We all gathered in the living room. I kept the attention on myself for a while longer and I was greeted by the others: Esme, Carlisle, Alice (again), and Jasper. I smacked the latter as well as hugged him a second time. Out of all the Cullen's, I had missed him the most and it felt good to have his strong stone arms around me again.

"Oh-kay," Bella said, drawing attention herself and where she stood in the middle of the stairs. Edward stood farther up, a dark expression on his face. All of us turned to her. "So, you all know what I want and I know it's a lot to ask for. The only thing I could think of to make it fair is a vote."

"A vote for what?" I asked, confused. Now that I thought of it, Bella had never really told me why I needed to come over here, just that it was really important. Maybe I should have given her a chance to speak…

"A morality vote," Bella told me, "I want to make sure that Cullen's are okay with the change seeing as they'll be the most affected."

I nodded my head in understanding. So my sister wanted me to be here when it was decided if she should be turned or not. It seemed that day was coming closer and I appreciated that she wanted me to be part of it.

Bella nodded back to me before turning to Alice who had her arms wrapped around Jaspers waist. "Alice?"

The pixie like girl smiled widely as she released Jasper and went over to hug Bella. "I already see you two as sisters," she said, "Of course, yes."

I smiled as Alice, glad that my sister would have someone like her to look after her when I no longer could.

"I vote yes," Jasper said, drawing everyone's gaze towards himself. "It'll be a relief not to want to kill you all the time," he added in a teasing tone. I pushed him slightly, causing him to chuckle.

"Um, thanks," Bella muttered, slightly uncomfortable before turning to the cold blonde leaning against a wall. "Rosalie?"

I think this was the first time I had every seen her so vulnerable. She turned her eyes away from Edward and rested them on Bella, a sad look in them. "I'm sorry. I really am sorry for the way that I have acted. And I'm really grateful that you were brave enough to go and save my brother." She paused slightly, looking down at her hands for a moment before turning to me. "This isn't the life I would have chosen for myself." She turned back to Bella, "And I wish that there could have been someone to vote no for me."

The weight of her words settled on everyone heavily for a moment before Emmett stepped forward. "Well, I vote hell yeah!" Stepping towards Bella, he picked her up and spun her around much like he had done to me in front of the house. Setting her back down on her feet, he turned to me and winked before adding, "We can pick a fight with these Volturi some other way."

I shook my head at him as Esme cast her vote. Yes. Then it was Carlisle who pointed out that because Edward had decided that he wanted Bella, he was left with no other choice. So with five yes's and only two no's, Bella was going to become a vampire.

"So when do you think will be the best time to change us?" Bella asked, a smile on her face.

"Wait, excuse me?" I asked, my brows coming together in deep confusion, "What do you mean change 'us'? I thought this was about you."

Everyone looked around awkwardly like they knew something I didn't. I looked up at Jasper who bit his perfect bottom lip uncomfortably for a moment before speaking. "Didn't Bella tell you what happened?"

"No, no one has told me anything," I said, anger once again slipping into my voice. "But someone's going to now. Why was I included on the vampire vote?"

Bella and Alice both shared a sad look before Alice walked towards me. Taking my hands in her cold ones, she started telling me what had happened in Italy.

One of the main scary dude's could read thoughts and memories with just a single touch from someone and had apparently learned about Bella and I and the fact that we were 'dead' through Edward. Then, when Bella showed up to save him, the big bad vampire was going to kill Alice and Edward because they had broken Vampire Law by revealing themselves to humans. Bella and I would also have to be killed because of the simple fact that we knew of their existence. The only way to save them was to promise that we were going to be turned into vampires.

My future had been given away without my knowledge.

My legs felt like jelly by the end of her story and I found it amazing that I hadn't fallen to the floor. With burning eyes, I looked around the room at my sister and all the Cullen's.

At one point in my life, not even too long ago, I would have loved to become one of them. To have an amazing power like Edward, Alice, or Jasper. But now that the decision was being forced on me, it felt almost like a death sentence. A vision of Jacob sprang to the front of my mind, his familiar face smiling my favorite goofy grin. I was going to lose him now. Imprinted or not he was going to hate me when I became like one of them. It would be harmful for him to be around me. I wouldn't even be me anymore. I would be his enemy, the one thing he was supposed to stop. And the thought killed me.

My lower lip started to tremble as tears leaked from my eyes. Covering my mouth with one of my hands, I shook my head, trying to clear the information from my head. I wished that this were a dream, which I would wake up from and everything would be okay. But I knew this wasn't a dream. This was real. The other's mouths were moving but I couldn't hear a word they said. I felt like I was drowning. I had to get out.

Giving into my instincts, I bolted from the room. Running up the stairs past Edward and out the front door to the truck. With a slight fumble, I started the machine before pushing it as fast as it would go to get out of there.

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Authors Note:: So, when I was trying to write this chapter, I realized that I had kind of dug myself into a hole with last chapters ending... I struggled for maybe an hour trying to figure out a way to connect them but came up with nothing so I kinda just skipped over stuff. Sorry about that. Hopefully the rest of this chapter made up for it and I can go back later and fix it. Thanks so much for all the reviews last chapter. There was no way Alex was going to tag along. The Volturi found out about her through Edward when they read his mind. Now Alex is stuck because they tell her she has to become a vampire and she doesn't want to because of Jacob. Poor Alex. Alex is the type to forgive easy when it comes to people doing something to her like forgive Bella for everything she does. However, as you can see, she does not forgive easily when someone does something to someone she loves like Edward ditching Bella in the woods. He pretty much screwed up their relationship and it will take a long time for her to ever trust him again. I'm glad you guys at least liked last chapter :) So glad you're all liking Alex and this story so much! Thank you everyone who has followed, favorited, or is just reading along with this story! :)


	24. The Reminder

**Chapter Twenty-Four: A Reminder **

I'm not sure how far I was able to make it, maybe a mile or two, before my tears became too much and blurred my vision. More or less blindly, I pulled the truck over and put it in park on the side of the road before covering my face with my hands and falling to my side. Lying on my side against the cracked leather of the seat, I curled my legs up to my chest and just let the shaking take over my body.

Never once when I looked at my future did I think it was going to be this complicated. Boy trouble; yeah I figured that would happen sooner or later. Life after high school; I thought which college I went too was going to be the biggest decision I made. Never once did I think that my boyfriend might turn out to be a werewolf or that my sister's might be a vampire. I didn't think that me myself becoming a vampire would even be a possibility. Why this was all happening to me, I had no idea. But it was not fun and I wished that it could be happening to someone other than me. I didn't want to have to choose between my boyfriend whom I cared about deeply or my family or the friends I have come to think of as family. It was all too much for a seventeen-year-old girl to take.

Stretching out blindly, I fumbled around for a bit until I found my phone. Wiping away some of my tears so I could see, I punched in the number of the one person I really wanted to talk to right now. Bringing the device to my ear, I tried to get a handle on my sniffling and sobbing so that I could at least sound somewhat in controlled for when they picked up the phone. It didn't do much good though because as soon as I heard Jacob's happy voice I pretty much lost it all over again. It didn't help that I could hear the yelling and joking of his pack mates in the background, the sound of them all having a good time. Probably hanging at Emily's.

"Lexi, what's wrong?" Jacob's tone quickly turned to concern as I let out a loud cry. "What happened?"

"I…I…I need you," I stuttered out between sobs. My voice was slightly muffled as I once more had a hand covering my face.

"Where are you?" he asked. When I didn't answer right away he asked again, his voice both comforting yet forceful. "Lexi, calm down. Tell me where you are."

I could tell that he was worried about me and I mentally beat myself up for calling him while I was like this. "I'm…I'm on the side of the road. Maybe a…I don't know, a mile or-or too from the C-Cullen's house."

"Lexi, listen to me. Are you hurt?" He was talking fast now. I could almost picture him walking away from the table and out of the house while the others watch him, confused looks on all of their faces.

"N-No," I answered although it seemed like a bit of a lie. I knew he was talking about physically, and in that way I was fine, but emotionally I was a wreck. Though, I bet he already knew that by now.

"Okay." I could hear him breathing a sigh of relief. "Lexi, I want you to stay where you are, okay? I'm going to come get you. I promise."

I took in a shaky breath. "Okay."

I continued to hold the phone to my ear long after the line had gone dead. My crying had slowed, but the shuttering continued. It seemed my body could do nothing else. The spell was broken the moment Jacob found me, however. As soon as he said my name and opened the door to the truck, my body acted like it had been electrocuted. I pushed myself up from the seat and twisted my body so that I could launch myself into his arms. I held him tight, using his warmth to chase away the rest of the stiffness that had attacked my muscles, while he lifted me slightly so that he could get into the truck with me.

The first couple of minutes were spent in silence as I could do nothing but hold him. I wanted to remember everything. The way his warm skin felt against mine, his cheek resting on the top of my head, how his large arms held my tight while at the same time as gently as if I was a frightened bird. I wanted to remember all of it so that when the time came for him to be taken away from me I could look back and remember.

"What happened?" Jacob asked, breaking our little bubble of silence.

It took me a while to answer him. When I thought about the vote, a fresh wave of many emotions rose up and seemed to smack me in the face. Sadness, fear, anger, a little bit of betrayal. But I took a deep breath and pushed those feelings down. I didn't want to cry anymore. In fact, I think I had cried enough in the past hour (at least I think it's been an hour…) to last me the rest of my life.

"You don't have to tell me yet if you're not ready."

I just shook my head even though it was a little difficult with his head on top of mine. "I want to tell you. You need to know."

And so I told him everything that had happened since I got out of school. The story got a little easier when I got to the part about me yelling at Edward. I knew Jacob seemed to like that part as he gave a few chuckles. But then I got to the part with the vote where my sentences started to come slower. I could feel his body tense up as I explained what had happened when Bella had gone to help Edward and how as a result she had to be changed. He said nothing, letting me move on to the vote and its outcome.

"And then…and then Bella asked when the best time… for us to be changed was."

"What?!"

"The vote wasn't just for Bella. I was included. They know that I know about vampires too so now I have to become a vampire or else I have to die."

His whole body started to shake at that. Breathing heavy, he carefully removed me from him before opening the truck door and getting out. He let out an angry yell before knocking his fist into the side of the truck.

"Jacob calm down." Crawling over the seat, I got out of the truck and followed closely behind and he headed off into the woods. He stopped in a clearing with his back to me, his whole body still shaking. Coming up behind him, I rested my cheek against his back and wrapped my arms around his waist, whispering calming words to help chase away his anger. It took about a minute, but soon his body stopped shaking.

Turning around, he looked down at me with a determined look in his eye. "I promise you I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"I know you won't." Smiling, I got on my tiptoes; raising myself, before placing a soft kiss on his lips. His arms quickly came around me, holding me in place as he deepened the kiss.

In the end, I pulled away first.

"I don't want to go home and you should probably tell the others what's going on. Do you think you could get my phone for me out of the truck so I can tell Charlie I'm going over to your house?"

Jacob sat me down on my feet before nodding. "Yeah, I'll be right back."

I watched him leave the little clearing before walking over to a fallen tree and taking a seat. It had turned out to be a long emotional day for me and I was tired. All I wanted right now was to spend the rest of the night with Jacob, eat some of Emily's amazing food, and go to sleep for like, a million years.

When Jacob returned, an angry expression once again covered his face. I gave him a confused look but didn't say anything as he walked over and stood next to me before crossing his arms over his chest. The answer to his hardened demeanor came in the form of my sister and Edward breaking through the tree line.

"Alex, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "We were worried about you after you left and then we saw the truck…"

"It's fine, Bella," I muttered. My tone came out a little harsher than I had meant. In truth, I didn't blame her for what had happened. She had been asleep for most of the day. She really hadn't had much time to tell me anything. Edward on the other hand, was a stupid vampire who didn't sleep. He had more than enough time to fill me in on everything that had happened. Then there was the little fact that he was the one who had gone to the Volturi in the first place.

Edward started to take a few steps towards us, his eyes never leaving Jacob. "Jacob, I know you have something to say to me, but I'd like to say something first. Is that alright?"

Jacob said nothing. He just looked at him with an expression that said 'I'm waiting',

"I want to thank you. For keeping Bella and Alex safe when I couldn't."

I rolled my eyes at that. Once again he was including me in statements where I didn't belong.

"I didn't do it for your benefit, trust me," Jacob assured, uncrossing his arms before draping one around my shoulders to prove his point.

"I'm still grateful." Edward's tone was calm, but a look in his eyes showed that he meant it. "But I'm back now. My family and I can look after the girls as well as handle the Victoria situation."

"Yeah, I don't think so. You can stay away from Alex, she doesn't need your type of protection," Jacob said, his arm around my shoulder tightening protectively. "And as for that red-haired bloodsucker, she's ours. She killed on our turf."

"We'll see," was all Edward said, taking a step back towards Bella. He made no further comment about me further proving that my sister was front and center in his mind. As soon as he reached her, he made a motion for them to head back over towards the road.

Jacob gave a chuckle before pushing away from the tree and me. "Nah, you can't leave yet. It's my turn to talk." Bella and Edward turned to look at him. "I would just like to remind you about a key point in the Treaty."

There was a short pause before Edward nodded his head. "I haven't forgotten."

"Good," Jacob said smugly, a smirk stretching across his lips.

"What? What key point?" Bella asked, turning from Edward to Jacob.

"If any of them bites a human, than the truce is off."

Bella shook her head while a smile slowly tugged at my lips. "No. If I choose it than it has nothing to do with you."

"You might choose it, but it doesn't matter. One bite and it's off."

"Why are you doing this?" Bella asked.

"Because I won't let your bloodsucking boyfriend take Lexi away," Jacob snapped.

Edward stretched out a protective arm in front of Bella before turning to Jacob. "We don't have a choice. She knows about us. It doesn't have to be right away. Time passes differently for vampires. It could be years before they decide to come and check up on Bella and Alex. She doesn't have to turn right away," he explained.

"But that doesn't change the fact that I'll still have to change at some point," I said, not being able to remain silent anymore. "I don't want that, Edward. Maybe at one point I did. But I don't now. I want Jacob and I can't have him if I'm like you."

Bella looked at me sadly while Jacob turned to flash me a proud smile. Edward was the only one looking at me with no expression at all.

"I'm sorry, Alex. But there's nothing we can do."

As though to prove that the discussion was over, Edward turned his back and started to lead Bella once more back towards the road. Jacob's smile melted from his face and was replaced with rage as he turned back towards Edward. His body started to shake once more as anger flooded his system.

"We're not done yet," he growled, following after Edward.

What happened next seemed to happen in a blur. One second Jacob was standing there, the next he was being launched over my head by Edward. My boyfriend let out a growl as he flew a couple feet back, transforming into a wolf before he hit the ground. He continued growling before taking off towards Edward and my sister. Not wanting there to be a fight, I stepped in front of him and put my hands up. Bella seemed to have the same idea because she yelled, "stop".

I felt no fear as I stood in front of the charging wolf with his large teeth bared. Even after hearing about and seeing what Sam had done to Emily, I knew that Jacob was different. He was running at Edward right now because he wanted to protect me. There was no way he was going to run me down to do that. He skidded across the forest ground before coming to a stop just a few inches in front of me.

"Alex," Edward said in a warning tone as I close the distance between Jacob and myself.

"Shut up, Edward," I muttered as I lifted a hand to Jacob's face. My blue eyes met his dark brown as I ran my hand over the soft fur of his face. He seemed to relax under my touch causing me to smile. I repeated the action one last time before turning around.

It seemed Bella had stepped in front of Edward in the effort of stopping him from hurting Jacob. Our eyes met and we stared at each other for what felt like hours. Suddenly, I broke the connection to glance at Edward for a moment before turning back.

"Looks like for once we're on separate sides," I said softly.

"Looks like it."

Neither of us said anything more. I don't know what made me do it, but slowly I turned back around and started heading deeper into the woods. After a faint huff, Jacob started following after me. I walked for a few minutes before stopping and turning to look at him.

"So that was a lot of fun," I muttered sarcastically.

Wolf Jacob just gave a shake of his head. I smiled up at him before realizing something.

"You phased in the air again." He just looked at me. "That means you don't have clothes."

Jacob hung his large wolfy head. If I didn't know any better, I would have said it was in embarrassment. I laughed, shaking my head at him.

"Just stay wolfy. I'll go get the truck and then meet you at Emily's," I told him before heading back towards the way we had come. Jacob gave a small whine before bumping his head against my back. I turned around to face him. It felt weird to say, but I found it pretty easy to figure out what he was trying to say to me.

"I'll be fine. I promise."

He gave me one last look before heading off in the direction I guessed Emily's house was. With one final shake of my head, I turned back around and headed towards the road. Edward and Bella were nowhere to be seen when I reached the small clearing where I had left them. A small ping went off in my heart as I thought about how, for the first time ever, Bella and I were on separate sides for something. But another side warmed as I thought about Jacob and the wolf pack.

They all treated Jacob like a brother, and me like a sister; and not even just because I was with Jacob. They actually seemed to like me for me. They were all so strong and loyal while still acting like a bunch of idiots. Although I still cared for some of the Cullen's like Jasper and Emmett, that wasn't the life I wanted. I wanted to grow old and have kids and I couldn't do that with them. But with Jacob I could.

So with a smile on my face, I walked out of the clearing and over to my truck still parked on the side of the road. Starting the engine, I headed off towards the side, no, the family, that I had chosen.

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Authors Note:: Oh my god, the response for last chapter was just- I can't put it into words. 22 reviews and a message! What! I never thought that it was possible for one of my stories to get that big of a response on just one update. I guess now I know all I have to do is put Alex in a really crappy situation where she's forced to become a vampire. ;) Don't worry guys, we have at least until Breaking Dawn before Alex's fate is set in stone. Until then, I'm not saying what's going to happen to her. Well, this was the last chapter of _Falling Skies_. Thanks so much everyone for reading. The first chapter of the Eclipse rewrite (still haven't decided on a set title for it yet) will be up sometime on August 8th. Between that time I might make a little one-shot type thing where the wolf pack comforts Alex or whatever. Haven't decided yet. Once the first chapter of the next story is up, I will post an authors note on this story for those of you who aren't following me as an author to let you know it is up. Thanks so much everyone who as followed, favorited, or is just reading along with this story. You guys are awesome! :)


	25. Authors Note!

Authors Note:: Hey guys! So I just want to start of by saying thank you so so **so** **much** to everyone who has supported this story. We got a little over three hundred reviews, over two hundred favorites and over two hundred follows. That is just insane! I can't believe it. And now onto the stuff everyone cares about, the Eclipse rewrite! IT IS UP! It's really long because I feel so bad for taking so long. So yeah, that's _Starless Night._There is also a new collection on polyvore so please check that out as well. Thanks everyone. :)

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Authors Note:: Okay, so I'm just going to put this here because it has the most followers right now and seems to be the most popular of my Twilight rewrites. So I just wanted to put it out there that I have made Alex a tumblr and plan on posting updates and WIPs for chapters there. It's also there for you to ask Alex or me questions if you want. Someone did this for one of their stories and it seemed like a lot of fun. I also feel like this would be a good way to get you guys content seeing as with school starting up again that it will be the easiest way for me to still get stuff to you since posts will be even harder for me to get out.

So yeah, you can find her by searching lexi-swan on tumblr and you don't even have to have a tumblr to check out her page. Thanks a bunch guys!

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10-27-2015: everything as been edited so hopefully there aren't as many errors as before. I probably missed some, but i'm thinking i got a lot of them. Some chapters were added to as well.


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